Religious Harmony in Peshawar, A Tale of Friendship and Unity Across Faiths

By: Jamal Safi

Peshawar is a city where people of different races as well as different religions have been living together in harmony, tolerance and brotherhood for many centuries. An example of this religious harmony can be seen in Peshawar’s Sadar Falak Sir Plaza, where Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs do business together in the same shop.

Shekhar (Hindu), Jazbir Singh and Muhammad Jameel, three friends from three religions have become a proud example of religious harmony by doing business with each other over the years.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jazbir Singh says, “Here we sit and eat together and do our daily activities. We celebrate all our festivals, be it Eid, Diwali or Guru Nanak Ji’s birthday together.” People in the market are also happy to see our activities and share in our happiness. We ourselves have been in business here for 15 years but we have maintained our religious harmony.”

Nineteen-year-old Shekhar said, “I myself do repair work and last year we also had a Christian friend here who has now shifted to another place. “Perhaps in no other place in Peshawar have people of four religions ever worked together.”

According to 17-year-old Muhammad Jameel, “During the holy days of Ramadan and Muharram, these friends of mine take special care of me, especially in Ramadan, they neither eat nor drink in my presence and when I go to the mosque to offer the Zuhr prayer, these people eat in my absence and set the table by the time I come.”