A recent UJIA and Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism event hosted by Nicola Lampert welcomed Reverend Hayley Ace, Andrew Fox, and Muslim pro-peace activist Loay Alshareef. We caught up with Loay during his stay at a private breakfast event hosted by Mandy and Martin Port.
Loay Alshareef was raised in a deeply religious household in Saudi Arabia; the pro-peace activist had memorised the entire Qu’ran by the age of 18. Alongside his pious spiritual beliefs, however, came radical views of Jews and Israel, and that all Jews are evil. Then, when posted to Paris to study he was placed with a family with whom he would live and practise his language skills. When he entered, he saw a Magen David he was shocked – and desperate to leave. Learning of the family’s religion immediately emailed the organisers of his programme to request that he be moved.
“I couldn’t stay with the family. It wasn’t comfortable to me, at first I just needed to leave,” he said. But they convinced him to stay; the family were very knowledgeable and open to discussions which Loay joined. He discovered his host family were good people as he jokes: “It was two Shabbat dinners did it!” recalling his introduction to Jewish culture and Hebrew. “In the Middle East we learned from antisemitic professors. This is wrong and must stop. In France, I found a great connection between French Muslims and Jews which opened my eyes.”
He learned Hebrew and became an expert in the bible, and on returning to his home, his mother gave him two months to go back to his “Salafi ways,” but he found that the change in his mindset was more permanent, announcing:
“Well it’s now 15 years and counting!” As Loay recounted his friends and family’s attitude to his new perspectives, he explains his family became very supportive: “My mother said that she could see I’d thought it through and supported my beliefs.” Loay’s close family mostly accepted he had differing views, but “some friends were not so happy!”
Loay started teaching and advocating for peace in 2017 and was inspired to create an educational project by Tikkun Olam – the Jewish concept that we are obliged to improve the world. Now, he broadcasts the value of peace between Muslims and Jews to over 100,000 followers on Instagram and 200,000 on X: “I hated Jews, but when you learn and appreciate the religion and beliefs, things can change. I believe that those who love Israel will be blessed. I have zero regrets about my work, and I would pay the price for my beliefs. I stillcare about my fellow Muslims, but of course it’s hard to convince everyone of my mindset.”
Loay only visited Israel for the first time in 2024 and has strong views of the current situation: “Israel’s war against Hamas has made the prospect of reconciliation more remote.
No one wants to see the deaths, Hamas must back down and release the hostages. Politics aside, everyone knows that these people should not rule Gaza after the war and they do not represent the aspirations of most Palestinian people.
“Zionism is the right of Jews to have self-determination in their ancestral homeland. We read in the bible, Israel has been around for thousands of years, some people think it started in 1948. I tell my fellow Muslims, even those who are moderate Muslims, follow the Abraham Accords, we are destined to live together in the Middle East in peace. However, those radicalised will not listen. Israel is an amazing place. Look at what it produces commercially, by the way Waze is the number one navigation app in Saudi Arabia. And on Dizengoff I tasted the best hummus ever!”
Loay now lives in Abu Dabi but has concerns for the UK: “Here in UK, you need to change regulations on immigration like other countries. A visa should be a privilege, and it should be monitored, and withdrawn should an individual support terrorist organisation.
In many Muslim communities here, anyone showing support to Israel or Jewish people risk being alienated.”
Follow instagram.com/lalshareef
