“Shubra” District Evokes Christian-Muslim Memories

By Salma Yassin

CAIRO, March 26 (SEE) -“Shubra” is a famous densely district located in downtown Cairo known with its distinct streets, nearby shops, scattered mosques and churches, and one single big family of Muslims and Christians living together.

In this district, it is strange to ask about any ones’ religion as this doesn’t really matter and nobody cares about.

All Muslims living there have endless memories and wonderful stories of real coexistence with their Christian neighbors and vice versa.

Mervat Yassin, a Muslim women and an accountant living in Shubra, narrated to (SEE) her fond memories with her Christian friends.

[caption id="attachment_42566" align="aligncenter" width="331"] Mervat Yassin in an outing with her Christian friends[/caption]

She said they were brought up accustomed to stick together in happy and sad occasions, besides special religious ones.

“In Ramadan my Christian friends living in the same district fast during daytime, they pay money for poor Muslims' Iftar and donate gifts to kids during feast holiday,” she added.

“Moreover, in Eid al-Fitr we have to celebrate together and share cookies as well as sweets in Prophet Mohamed birth day,” Yassin confirmed.

Yassin stressed, “It’s quite common for me to perform a whole day 5 prayers in my Christian friend’s home and they've never seemed to be upset or uncomfortable”.

On her Part, Mona Fayez, one of Shubra’s residents who work as an employee in the American embassy, remembered her memories with Muslim friends while helping her in making hand-made rings out of wicker in Easter holiday.

[caption id="attachment_42567" align="aligncenter" width="352"] Mona Fayez, a Christian living in Shubra[/caption]

“In epiphany، we used to inviting our Muslim neighbors to eat together taro and drink sugarcane juice,” she added.

Hadya Girgis, an employee in a private company in Canada who grew up in Shubra, stated that she always crack jokes about violent and extremist religious incidences in other countries that she can’t even imagine how anyone could hate others because of their different faith or religion.

[caption id="attachment_42568" align="aligncenter" width="317"] Hadya Girgis a Christian grew up in Shubra[/caption]