I asked Google this morning which Eid is being celebrated today, because a number of people close to me are observing it, and I realised I actually knew very little about this Eid.
What I discovered was genuinely fascinating.
Today is Eid al-Adha, which commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son before being stopped by an angel.
And what struck me most was not the difference between our faiths, but the extraordinary overlap between them.
Here was a story I have always known as part of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 22) and Jewish tradition, Abraham, the Father of Judaism (2000 BCE) retold and honoured within the Quran and Islam too (620 CE).
It reminded me that Christianity (under 100 CE) also draws deeply from these same ancient narratives through the Old Testament (1200 BCE) , alongside the New Testament.
I suppose, in a world increasingly obsessed with division, we sometimes forget just how intertwined these great Abrahamic faiths actually are.
Different paths.
Shared roots.
Shared prophets.
Shared stories.
Shared humanity.
Anyway, I learned something today.
To all those celebrating, Eid Mubarak 🙏