Muslim doctor speaks at Newbury Quakers

Despite the challenges of ‘The Beast from the East’, 28 people ventured out on the snowy evening of Friday March 2 for an inspiring event hosted jointly by Newbury Quakers and the West Berks Peace and Integration Forum. The evening’s theme was, ‘Healing is needed for nations, as well as for people’. The speaker was Dr. Omnia Marzouk, a British Muslim of Egyptian origin and for 22 years a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Liverpool Children’s Hospital. At the same time she was president of ‘Initiatives of Change’ an organisation which stresses the importance of personal responsibility, ethical leadership and building trust across the world’s divides.

Dr. Marzouk said that working in the multi-cultural NHS was an ideal setting to learn how to live respectfully and compassionately. She also told us about her work with Initiatives of Change on trust building, traveling to 26 countries. A lively discussion followed with the diverse audience, which included a Sikh couple, young Muslims and Christians. A Buddhist woman gave the vote of thanks.

One comment made was, “Silence is the language of God. All else is a poor translation.” An appropriate observation perhaps, in a Quaker Meeting House.