Hundreds of Muslim and Jewish women are expected to attend a controversial government-sponsored interfaith conference on Sunday.
The Nisa-Nashim conference will take place at Westminster University and is also sponsored by the pro-Israel Board of Deputies of British Jews.
According to the organisers, the conference aims to bring together Jewish and Muslim women from across the UK to focus on how their similarities are greater than their differences, and to consider how they can contribute to a more cohesive society.
The Nisa-Nashim conference says it aims to create lasting connections between Jewish and Muslim Women, and to learn more about anti-semitism and Islamophobia.
Speakers include National Co-Chairs Laura Marks and Julie Siddiqi and among the delegates will be Members of Parliament, academics, as well as representatives of the media, business, charity and community organisations.
Nisa-Nashim is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government and is supported by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
However, there are concerns that the conference, and the interfaith movement in general, may be a subtle ploy by Zionists to neutralise criticism of Israel and boycotts of Israel among the Muslim community.
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One community activist told 5Pillars that she was concerned that many Muslim women were being duped into attending the event without full knowledge of who is funding it and its implications.
She said: “In these difficult times we have to be vigilant about where we get our funding from and what projects, events and groups we participate in. There are many agencies that are trying to infiltrate, control and influence us to monitor us or change what we think and what we do. We have to be scrupulous in ensuring that we are not condoning and giving credence to policies and issues that are detrimental to the Muslim community by our collusion.”
