May was Jewish History Month in the Canadian province of Ontario, proclaimed by an act of the provincial government one year ago. The month is dedicated to celebrating the achievements and contributions of Jews, Jewish organizations and the Jewish community to life in Ontario.

The government held a significant reception at Queen’s Park, home of the Legislature, on May 28, to acknowledge the many facets of Jewish life in Ontario over the past 200 years.

Historic Dialogue Jewish, Christian leaders meet in Greece Ynetnews Rabbis, Christian Orthodox clergy and scholars from around world discuss environment, religious values and rise in anti-Semitism Jewish, Christian leaders meet in Greece

To mark the Jewish Heritage Month, Muslim-Jewish Dialogue (MJD) – chaired by David Nitkin, president of EthicScan Canada, and Tariq Khan, editor of Weekly Press Pakistan – has organized a reception for non-Arab Ajmi Muslims at Baycrest, the Jewish community’s leading edge gerontology and geriatric facility in Toronto.

Greeting the visitors at the MJD reception was Mark Adler, local member of Parliament for the Government of Canada, and a significantly involved member of the Jewish community. He expressed sincere best wishes and appreciation for the guests who were present and offered full assistance to the group in maintaining and expanding the good relations between the two faith communities.

The Muslim and Jewish guests were welcomed into the small but elegant museum on the main floor of Baycrest, and offered lovely traditional Mediterranean refreshments, and given a history of the facility by Ian Leventhal, a manager with special interest in diversity. Muslim visitors took great interest in the current display which features sacred and secular head gear from all over the world, worn by Jews and non Jews.

Tariq Khan, on behalf of Muslim guests, gave thanks to the Jewish friends for this wonderful and amazing visit. “Muslims and Jews are cousins and I am very glad today we are jointly marking the Jewish Heritage Month," he said.

"Islam and Judaism share a common origin through Prophet Abraham and thus, both are considered Abrahamic religions. One of the common teachings in both religions is to serve humanity selflessly.”

'Make this planet hate-free'

He further said that throughout the Muslim history, whether in Khilafat-e-Rashida (The Pious Caliphate), Umayyad Dynasty, Abbasid Empire, Muslim Spain or Ottoman Era, there is no record of any religion based armed conflict found between the two. Muslims and Jews lived in relative peace with one another all over the world, and Muslim Spain is still considered as the Golden Era for Jews.

"The Palestinian conflict has nothing to do with religion, and it was initiated by communist Arab rulers. Instead of welcoming the Jewish people who came back to their holy land which was lost 2,000 years ago and joining hands with them to serve humanity together, so-called Arab nationalist rulers invaded the modern State of Israel.

"To get sympathies and support of Muslims living all over the world, the communist rulers of the Arab world, shamelessly converted their adventurism into a religious battle between the two faith communities. No doubt, God is kind and never supports unjust, they were defeated.

"Now, it is time for Muslims to understand the facts, recognize the reality and work together with their Jewish cousins to make this planet hate-free and a wonderful place for everyone", the editor of WPP concluded.

Reprinted with permission from the Tazpit News Agency