Jewish, Muslim Manchester mourners have been friends for 10 years
Published May 28, 2017
A Muslim man and a Jewish woman mourning the victims of a suspected terror attack that left at least 22 dead in Manchester, May 24, 2017. (Screenshot from Twitter)
(JTA) — The elderly Jewish woman and Muslim man whose photo mourning together at a memorial to the victims of the Manchester attack went viral on social media say they have been good friends for over 10 years.
Renee Black, 93, and Sadiq Patel, 46, from Blackburn, Lancashire, one of the most deprived and racially segregated areas in Britain, are both members of The Interfaith Forum, a voluntary group devoted to promoting harmony between different faiths and ethnic communities, the London-based Daily Mail reported.
The two friends told the newspaper that they had intended to stop at Albert Square in Manchester to just pay their respects and leave a bouquet of flowers, but first Black and then Patel broke down thinking about all of the young lives cut off in the blast and remained at the site for a couple of hours, piquing the curiosity of passers-by.
“When I look at Sadiq, I don’t see a Muslim and when he looks at me he doesn’t see a Jew. He is one of my dearest and most caring friends. I don’t know what I’d do without him,” Black told the newspaper.
“When we were walking through Albert Square I kept asking Sadiq: ‘Why is everyone looking at us?’ I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about us being there together. All I could think about was that poor little eight-year-old girl. God’s been good to me. I am at the edge of life now, while hers should have been spread out before her,” she also said.
As a Muslim, I felt quite nervous about going to Albert Square. You are never sure how people might react to you, because these radicalized terrorists have tarnished the Islam faith,” Patel told the Daily Mail.
“I was worried we might attract attention, but I was surprised by how much. The atmosphere was so sombre and quiet and we both felt very emotional. Renee was really upset thinking about the poor children who died. For both us it felt incomprehensible that someone could take all those innocent lives in the name of faith. It’s certainly not a faith either of us recognizes,” he said.
Patel, who is a devout Muslim, visits Black, who is Sabbath-observant, every few days, and drives her to Manchester to purchase kosher food.
