In busy Rimal street of Gaza City, a small shop offers Arabian staple food – beans, chickpeas and falafel. Though it can’t serve many customers, the vendor somehow connects Christians and Muslims with tolerant minds.

Khuder Akila, a 60-year-old retailer, pulls followers of two faiths together with no special powers. Born to parents who would bear many pregnancies but no infant living beyond a week, Khuder’s mother shared her grief with Christians neighbor Ume Rizik. She was advised to baptize her next baby in the Church of St Perfirius in Gaza. The desperate mom exactly did the same. Her Muslim son underwent baptism like any Christian child.

Ume Rizik named her son Khuder Akila, who lives the life of a Muslim but keeps a cozy corner for Christians sharing the neighborhood or Gaza strip. He was not an exception as tradition of ‘baptizing Muslim children’ in special cases is centuries old. Though harmony in multi-religious Gaza has plummeted, such customs have been hard to unlearn.

To the family’s pleasant surprise, a week passed without bad news. Baptized Khuder enjoyed good health with his twin sister. However, not-so-young mom of twins could not breast feed both her children to their satisfaction. Again the Christian neighbor came to the rescue and volunteered to feed Khuder with her baby Rizik.

The pair lived like real brothers, sharing the bonds of lactation and neighbored. The Christian woman always enjoyed the title and respect of a mother from Khuder. He not only shared his room with Rizik but also celebrated Christmas together as well.

During Ramadan, Rizik would not eat due to Muslim worship of Soum (fasting from dawn to dusk). The duo always wore new clothes and enjoyed sweets on Eid al-Fitr and al-Adha.

Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

Your rating: None Average: 1 (2 votes)