While Islamic beliefs may be incompatible with homosexuality, attending a Ramadan meal with Dublin’s Muslim community was a radical lesson in ways forward for the world, says Will St Leger

Two days after Dublin LGBT Pride a tweet popped up in my feed that caught my attention. It was from a Muslim Imam inviting LGBT people to the ‘iftar’ Ramadan meal at their Islamic Centre in Dublin. The invitation sparked my curiosity, so I accepted it with an open mind.

I arrived at the Al-Mustafa Islamic Centre in Blanchardstown just before 8pm on Saturday night, where I was greeted with genuine warmth by members of the local Muslim community, young and old. Along with other gays and lesbians, there were Buddhists, Christians, Jews and non-believers present.

In his opening speech, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, Chairman of the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, talked about the human family and our shared commonality. He also talked about recent hate crimes against LGBT people and other minorities, including the beating of a blind Muslim man in front of his family in his Clondalkin home, by masked men.

Another speaker attested to the outcome of extreme hate. Tomi Reichental, an 81 year-old holocaust survivor spoke about being rounded up by the Gestapo in 1944 at age nine and sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp with 13 members of his family.

Marina Forrestal, a lesbian woman, spoke about tragic moments in Ireland’s sectarian past when her family would go to Protestant churches as a mark of solidarity.

At 10pm we sat down for a banquet of fruit, juice, rice and various dishes from the near east. Everyone seemed forthcoming, talkative and at ease. Perhaps there’s something about sharing food with one another that reinforces our evolutionary bond as social primates.

Reconciling religious dogma with innate sexual diversity is problematic. Examine the tenets of the three major Abrahamic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam and you will find their belief in objective morality is incompatible with homosexuality. This is unlikely to change.

In recent years we’ve heard glowing generalities about humanity, compassion for LGBT people from religious leaders, except this time it’s coming from an Islamic community. I think this move by Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council is bold, brave and dare I say it, radical.

Believers and non-believers, gay or straight, we need to occupy common ground if we are serious about taking on hate crime. We begin with dialogue and understanding from both sides and build on our strengths.

While the likes of Donald Trump want to build walls in this world, what the meal I had with the Blanchardstown Muslim community proves is that it’s actually time to build bridges.