Bristol Cathedral hosted iftars in 2024 and 2025, but the adhan prayer was said outside. (Photo: Getty/iStock)
Anglican Mainstream, a conservative-leaning organisation, has said that churches and cathedrals should be used for Christian worship only in response to some hosting Islamic events.
There has been some debate over the issue during Ramadan in light of past iftars at cathedrals, including Bristol Cathedral in 2024 and 2025. An iftar is an evening meal that marks the end of a day’s fasting for Ramadan.
While some thought Bristol Cathedral hosted one again this year, its Chapter Clerk, Ben Silvey, clarified that while iftars had “proudly” taken place in the previous two years, there was no such event this year.
He added that commentators were likely confusing the cathedral with the nearby Cathedral School, which he said “regularly hosts one”.
Whatever the case, there is no dispute that iftars have previously been held not only in Bristol Cathedral, but in other cathedrals.
Silvey said the cathedral had hosted iftars in the previous two years “to counteract some of the divisions in our community that we feel very keenly at the moment”, and further clarified that the adhan – the Muslim call to prayer – had not taken place within the cathedral.
“Both [iftars] were undertaken with much consultation and prayer before committing to them – with the adhan being the focus of much of that discussion. In both cases the adhan was not said in the cathedral – but space was made outside of the building for that and for prayers,” he said.
“I say this not in defence, but to counteract the narrative … that cathedrals are in some way losing their focus on faith in Jesus Christ. We are absolutely motivated by following Him – and finding ways to connect with our whole community (as a building that also holds civic responsibilities).”
This year Winchester Cathedral played host to an “educational Iftar meal”, although it took place in the pavilion refectory, rather than in the main sanctuary. The event was billed as an interfaith dinner, marking the fact that Lent and Ramadan overlap this year, something that will not happen again until 2057.
Anglican Mainstream said that while it welcomed “common community action with our Muslim neighbours” it is important for Christian leaders to preserve the sanctity and purpose of their worship spaces.
The group said that “religious buildings are set apart and dedicated for the particular use of their community”.
“Therefore they are to be used for and by the religious community to which they belong only for gatherings that are in conformity with the teaching and traditions of that community,” it said.
“Therefore a Christian church can no more be used with integrity to host an event whose assumptions are at odds with acknowledging Jesus as Lord than Christians would expect a mosque to host a Christmas or Easter celebration.”
These thoughts were echoed by Christian Concern’s Tim Dieppe who, while sharing his thoughts on the ongoing controversy over Islamic prayers in Trafalgar Square, commented on Christian places of worship hosting iftars.
“You can’t allow the proclamation that Allah is the greatest god in a place dedicated to worship of the Christian God. That is a breach of canon law,” he said.
He added, “Somehow, I can’t imagine any mosque allowing proclamation of the gospel in their premises, let alone an act of Christian worship to take place there.
“Nick Timothy was quite right to say that the call to prayer explicitly repudiates Christianity and so does not belong in churches or cathedrals.”
