History
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| Left to right: Lord Janner, Prince Hassan, Samuel Klein. From 20090104 - Jordan |
The organisation was initially founded as "The Political Council For Coexistence", during a joint visit to Sarejevo, Bosnia in 2005 by HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan and Lord Greville Janner QC.
They were concerned by the fragmentation and divisions in society caused by religion as a source of conflict. They felt that the histories, traditions and values of Islam and Judaism offered opportunities for bringing a divided society together, providing a shared response to issues of discrimination and intolerance. The Council was set up as a bi-lateral political network of Muslim and Jewish parliamentary leaders with the following aims:
- Public awareness. To raise public awareness about the positive contributions both Muslim and Jewish communities have made to society.
- Policy influence. To work for the benefit of Muslim and Jewish communities within national government and representative bodies.
- Mobilisation and advocacy. To mobilise political leaders into consultation, access, and advocacy so as to address issues of discrimination or intolerance in national governments.
In 2007, under the leadership of its first Director Alan Sennit, past national chairman of the Union of Jewish Students, the organisation's name was changed to ‘The Coexistence Trust’ and began to actively engage with issues of discrimination and intolerance on university campuses, working with university administrations to tackle antisemitism and Islamophobia and to ensure the safety and welfare of their minority student populations.
In 2008, The Coexistence Trust launched the first-ever cross-party initiative to discuss Muslim and Jewish student community relations on UK University Campuses. The tour addressed the integration of minority communities into British society and explored parallels in the journeys of Jewish and Muslim communities in Britain through discussion with Jewish and Muslim figures from the Houses of Parliament.