LONDON: Senior Muslim and Jewish leaders from Britain held a secret summit that resulted in the signing of a historic reconciliation accord that was presented to King Charles III, The Times reported.
The summit was hosted last month at the 17th-century Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland and involved 11 religious leaders.
The resulting agreement, dubbed the Drumlanrig Accord, was presented to the king on Tuesday.
He hailed the “marvellous exercise” and said the “least he could do” was host the religious leaders.
The summit, held at the invitation of the duke of Buccleuch, aimed to repair ties between the UK’s Muslim and Jewish communities in the wake of the Gaza war.
“The leaders were honoured to be able to present a copy of the accord to his majesty the king at Buckingham Palace, underscoring its profound national and societal significance,” the group of faith leaders said.
“A new framework for engagement … built on mutual respect, dialogue and practical collaboration” between British Muslims and Jews was laid out in the accord. It highlights the shared spiritual heritage of the two faiths.
Both communities committed to working together on “practical initiatives that support the most vulnerable.”
Observers hope that the accord will lead to the establishment of a joint body that could monitor Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents in Britain.
The idea for the summit was put forward by the chief imam of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, Sayed Razawi, who had been working for a year to bring Muslim and Jewish figures together for dinners and meetings.
Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, also played a key role.
Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam were represented. Civil servants and community groups also attended.
Razawi said: “Initially people were slightly nervous as they were coming in and saw this huge castle that takes your breath away, but within an hour and a half people were best of friends, joking, talking about each other’s families, discussing issues and problems.”
After eight hours of discussion, the faith leaders agreed upon the accord. They met again on Tuesday at Spencer House in London to sign the document, before walking together to Buckingham Palace to present it to the king.
Mirvis said the accord represents “a bold first step towards rebuilding a meaningful trust between Muslim and Jewish communities over the long term.
“They do not gloss over our differences; they acknowledge them. But they also send out a powerful message that in times of division, when it is far easier to retreat into fear and suspicion, we are prepared to take the more challenging path to reconciliation.”
