Spark of light in Darkness !
In a world of Donald Trump, Modi, Netanhayu and many such people, Amazon thankfully came up with the message of religious tolerance high lightening a moment of friendship between a Christian and a Muslim in a Christmas Ad.
The company released a new commercial this week highlighting a warm relationship between a priest and an Imam.
Amidst increasing Islamophobic reports of religious intolerant incidents day by day especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, the online retail giant launched an advertising campaign on Wednesday that promotes the message that you don’t need to follow the same religion to be a good friend to your neighbor.
In the ad, an imam pays a visit to his pal, who happens to be a priest. They cracked jokes about the aches and pains of old age. At the end of the visit, both coincidentally decide to purchase the same gift online for each other kneepads that help them kneel while they pray.
The priest is Rev. Gary Bradley, vicar of a church in London, and the Imam is Zubeir Hassam, Principal of the Muslim School Oadby, in Leicester.
“This is what I do in the community – I didn’t do any acting I was just being myself,” Hassam told The Telegraph said.
“With all the bad publicity we have got this is a very, very positive ad showing that people of different faiths can get together.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouu6LGGIWsc
According to the Guardian, Amazon consulted with the Church of England, the Muslim Council of Great Britain and the Christian Muslim Forum to make sure that the commercial was respectful of each religious tradition.
“We think it is an authentic and charming story,” said Simon Morris, director of advertising at Amazon.
“We think it is a legitimate story. We are conscious that some people may be sensitive to it. It is about selflessness and thinking of other people.”
Christmas time is a busy season for advertisers, with companies spending millions of dollars on campaigns and battling with each other to make the biggest splash.