Jointly supervised Kosher-Halal food served in ‘historic first’ at interfaith book launch
The event celebrated the publication of 'Illuminating Scriptural Connections: A Qur’anic Commentary on the Torah', a book by Rick Sopher and Professor Abdulla Galadari
Food approved by both the Halal Food Authority and the Kosher Authority was served at an interfaith book launch in what organisers said was a historic first.
“This is a first – and it is amazing,” declared author Rick Sopher, as Jewish and Muslim religious leaders came together to discuss peace, scripture and the ties that bind their faiths together.
“Normally at other [interfaith] events when it is time to eat Jews go one way to eat and Muslims would go the other which never made sense,” said Sopher about the separate way food is typically prepared for Muslims and Jews.
He explained both Muslim and Jewish food authorities had gone to great lengths to work together to ensure the two faith groups could eat the same food by working together to approve the food on the evening.
The historic moment happened on the same day the British Government announced new sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank.The Government’s announcement was the subject nobody mentioned. While diplomatic relations between Britain and Israel deteriorated outside the room, those inside focused on the quieter work of building trust.
The occasion was the launch of Illuminating Scriptural Connections: A Qur’anic Commentary on the Torah, a book by Rick Sopher and Professor Abdulla Galadari which examines each of the Torah’s 54 weekly portions through the lens of the Qur’an.
Sopher says it draws out the stories, principles and language shared by the two scriptures, while also confronting their differences and the passages which have historically caused tension.
Sopher, the chief executive of Edmond de Rothschild Capital Holdings who has become a prominent figure in interfaith dialogue, was interviewed at the launch by Imam Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi.
Galadari, an associate professor of Islamic studies at Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, was unable to attend because of his teaching commitments.
Razawi described the book as “profound and powerful” and praised its role in “building a culture of reading scriptures together”.
Explaining its central argument, Sopher said: “What it tries to show is the deep connections between the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible.
“Our book is intended to show that Jewish and Muslim communities, through their scriptures, are deeply connected.”
Sopher argued that a lack of knowledge about each other’s sacred texts had allowed suspicion and fear to flourish. When speaking to Jewish audiences, he regularly asks how many people have read the Qur’an.
“Nobody has read the Qur’an,” he said of the response he often receives. “That opens the door to an irrational fear of the Qur’an. Some of the people I’ve met think it is some kind of war manual and they haven’t read it.
“I think that leads to what we’ve called in our book ‘Qur’anophobia’.”
Rather than treating Jewish and Islamic scripture as competing texts, Sopher and Galadari place them in conversation. Each chapter considers one of the weekly Torah portions and asks what the Qur’an might add to its interpretation.
“We’ve organised the book in a very Jewish way,” Sopher explained. “The Torah is divided into 54 weekly portions which have been read on a weekly basis for about 2,000 years.
“Rabbinical commentaries very often ask: what does the weekly portion say, and how can I apply it to the world today? In our book, we ask: what would the Qur’an say about the weekly portion?”
The authors do not avoid Qur’anic passages which can be perceived as critical of Jews. Instead, they examine them alongside similar passages in the Hebrew Bible and place them both within their historical and scriptural contexts.
“When we started working through what some Jews were being criticised for in the Qur’an, we then took a good look at Hebrew scripture,” Sopher said.
“We found that, in every case, the criticism was also to be found in the Hebrew Bible. And when we started assessing the severity of the criticism, in nearly every case we found that the Hebrew Bible criticised those Jews much more severely than the Qur’an.”
He suggested that the Qur’an could, in part, be understood as a form of commentary which engages with biblical material while drawing out its own messages.
“The Qur’an is many, many things, but it definitely takes material contained in the Bible and comments on it,” he said. “The Qur’an often doesn’t give the whole story; it gives the message.”
Even the book’s cover reflects that relationship, he said. Its design combines a Star of David with a 12-point Islamic geometric pattern inspired by the Abbasid Palace in Baghdad.
“The Islamic pattern does not come and erase the Star of David,” Sopher explained. “It is connected to it in many, many different places – and that really is the theme of our book.
“The Qur’an didn’t come and wipe out the previous scriptures. It connected to them, worked on them and produced its own form.”
The technical discussion was punctuated by a warm moment of humour when Sopher thanked his wife, Carol, for supporting his work.
“She has tolerated my supplemental activity as an ambassador for good interfaith relations,” he said, before admitting: “And she didn’t even get the book dedicated to her, I’m afraid.”
Explaining how that had happened, he revealed that the dedication had been proposed by Galadari.
“At the suggestion of my co-author, we’ve dedicated the book simply ‘to peace’,” he said. “I really don’t think I need to say anything more than that.”
Sopher paid tribute to Galadari as both an intellectual partner and friend, describing him as “an incredible scholar”. The pair communicated frequently over several years while working on the project, supported by academics brought together through the Woolf Institute’s Qur’an and Bible reading group.
Both Sopher and Razawi spoke particularly passionately about taking the book’s ideas into schools. They recalled the effect of appearing together before young people as representatives of two faiths more often shown in conflict.
“Instead of watching all the conflict that comes out on social media, which is always showing opposition, they (young people) find connections between people,” Razawi said.
Sopher acknowledged that Jewish-Muslim relations were under acute strain and that a single book could not transform the political landscape.
“Jewish-Muslim relations are in a really bad place. I think most people would agree,” he said. “I hope this book provides a really good, solid literary basis for showing people the connections between Jews and Muslims and between Judaism and Islam.”
The timing made that hope feel especially poignant. On a day dominated by sanctions, accusations and diplomatic retaliation, politics remained the unspoken presence in the room.
“It’s very important,” Sopher said. “I’d really like us to put our heads together to see what projects we can come up with to get this message to young people.”
Alex Goldberg, who is Faith Co-ordinator of the City of London, was one of the many faith leaders, who attended the launch.
He said: “It’s a real credit to Rick Sopher that he has delivered such an interesting and timely book with his co-author Abdulla Galadari. What struck me at the launch was the warmth in the room: leading rabbis and imams sharing sushi, sacred texts, laughter and serious conversation. I wish more people could see that side of Jewish-Muslim relations.
“At a time when our two faiths are so often presented only through conflict, this was a powerful reminder of what thoughtful scholarship, friendship and genuine engagement can achieve.”