Two faiths, one prayer: Muslims and Jews come together to pray

A group of 20 Muslims and Jews taken to five different public sites of LA to pray

As a part of an initiative called Two Faiths One Prayer, a group of Jews and Muslims from California gathered at a Los Angeles beach to pray in a display of solidarity. 

"We were just so surprised that we could do this together and it's very similar," said participant Maryam Saleemi.

The sounds of the worshippers reciting their prayers in their respective languages, Hebrew and Arabic mingled with the crashing of the waves.

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As the devotees laid out their prayer mats, Saleemi added, "It was kind of like an 'Aha Moment' that we're praying to the same God, why aren't we doing this all the time together?"

According to reports, Two Faiths One Prayer took the initiative and directed a group of 20 Muslims and Jews to five different sites across the city.

The organisation also gave the group of worshipers an opportunity to communicate and find common ground.

The event was organised by members of New Ground, an interfaith organisation aiming to strengthen the bond between Muslims and Jews.

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After another 60 to 70 people joined the group for the rare joint prayer session at Los Angeles' City Hall, a dinner was organised for followed by the Muslims offering Isha prayers while Jews recited liturgical poetry, called Piyyutim.

New Ground fellow Tuli Skaist hoped that people would take inspiration from such events and start praying with each other, adding that "it doesn’t only have to be within the context of an organised event."

This article originally appeared on Huffington Post