CAIRO - As the Muslim world has turned its attention to the fasting month of Ramadan, Pope Shenuda III, leader of the Coptic Church in Egypt, has urged Muslims and Christians to give money to thepoor. “Ramadan is a time of reflection and deep personal worship, which emphasises the values of humility and self-control while increasing sensitivity to the suffering of the needy,” Shenuda told guests attending the annual National Unity iftar (meal to break the fast) banquet, which was held Sunday night in Cairo. Shenuda, whose speech triggered enormous sympathy for the needy, said that the faithful would win a higher place in paradise if they help the poor with money and treat them with love and respect everyday of the year. Addressing the iftar banquet, which was attended by top Government officials, celebrities, reporters and ordinary people, the Coptic Pontiff exhorted Muslims and Copts to seek common ground between religious values and Egyptian traditions. He said that it was wrong to behave as if Islamic and Christian values were incompatible. "They are not, as millions of devout Egyptians share the same values that call for boosting their motivation to helping the needy,” Pope Shenuda said during the iftar gathering, which coincided with his 83rd birthday. “With help from the wealthy, the poor should find happiness in Islam and Christianity, which have piety and charity at their core,” Shenuda added. “Charity and almsgiving are cornerstones of Islam and Christianity, and they should be given special importance all the time,” he urged. The top Coptic cleric noted that Islam and Christianity share the same principle of charity, which insists on Muslims making an annual payment, or zakat al-mal, and on the Christians to pay al-eshour (alms) to the poor. "Fasting teaches us patience and to think of the poor, who are particularly worthy recipients of charity,” he said. He said that the joint iftar, co-hosted by the Lions Misr and Egypt's Peace Lovers Association, cements cohesion between Muslims and Copts and boosts theirsense of shared Egyptian identity. "Egypt takes pride inthe fact that this is the only country where followers of the two religions are as one people,” he told the annual gathering.
