Ramadan Tent at Jewish school allows interfaith amongst students

A Jewish secondary school in London is celebrating the end of a two-week long Ramadan Tent as part of an interfaith initiative.

The Jewish Community Secondary School (JCoSS) put the tent up between 22 June and 3 July, marking Ramadan, a holy month in the Islamic calendar.

The tent was intended to mirror Abraham’s home, in which he welcomed his visitors in Bereshit.

“Earlier this term, we worked with a Muslim educator to develop sessions about Islam,” said Elaine Robinson, director of Jewish Ethos at JCoSS. “This is the next step to building united and more tolerant communities.”

Jewish children mingled with students from St Andrew the Apostle’s Greek Orthodox School, St Michael’s Church of England School, Unity Muslim School, Ayesha Muslim Community School, and King Solomon High School.

Teachers helped them learn about each other’s faiths, social action, homelessness and animal welfare in the community, as well as the religious attitudes to these issues.

A spokesman said the project had been co-funded by church and youth groups amid growing national criticism of faith schools from politicians who claim that they are too inward-looking.