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A 'date' with Prince Harry: Singapore's Muslim Youth Ambassador of Peace shares her experience

Britain's Prince Harry speaks to Nazhath Faheema, a Muslim Youth Ambassador of Peace, as they eat an evening meal to break fast, or the iftar, for Ramadan - the Muslim fasting month, during a visit to a children's home, June 4, 2017 in Singapore. REUTERS/Joseph Nair/Pool
Prince Harry speaking to Nazhath Faheema, a Muslim Youth Ambassador of Peace, as they had iftar together during a visit to a children’s home in Singapore on Sunday (4 June) . Photo: Reuters

It’s not all the time that you get to see a prince in Singapore, let alone to have a “date” with one.

Singapore’s Muslim Youth Ambassador of Peace, Nazhath Faheema, was one of the lucky ones who scored a seat right next to Prince Harry on Sunday (4 June) when His Royal Highness joined in an iftar meal at Jamiyah Children’s Home. The prince is in Singapore for a two-day visit to meet with charity organisations, including Action for AIDS, and to attend a fundraiser for his charity Sentebale on Monday (5 June).

While 32-year-old Nazhath was informed beforehand that she would be attending the VIP event, little did she know that she would be sitting right next to Prince Harry until the day itself. At the event, she shared with him more about Singapore’s culture, taking him through the iftar and eating dates together.

“It took me some time to realise that I was sitting next to him. But he is a very down-to-earth, very calm, very casual person. It felt very easy; he was very approachable,“ Nazhath told Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore in an interview on Monday morning (5 June). She later added, “It was almost like talking to a friend, really, I couldn’t believe it.”

Nazhath was appointed as one of the 20 Muslim Youth Ambassadors of Peace (MYAP) in 2015 by Jamiyah Singapore, social group IM.PROF and the Kadaiyanallur Muslim League, with an objective to promote peace and to “counter terrorism and have anti-radicalisation initiatives” in the country, according to Nazhath.

Britain's Prince Harry eats an evening meal to break fast, or the iftar, for Ramadan - the Muslim fasting month, during a visit to a children's home in Singapore, June 4, 2017. REUTERS/Joseph Nair/Pool
Nazhath Faheem talking to Prince Harry at the iftar on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Prince Harry, who is also 32 years old, had joined Nazhath and others for a brief iftar – about 30 minutes – before proceeding to meet other youths in attendance. After he was seated at about 6.45pm, Nazhath guided him through the iftar, from the Islamic call to prayer to eating the dates and porridge that were served.

“He was amazed that throughout the whole world, all the Muslims use dates [to break fast]. I remember reminding him there were seeds in the dates, so look out for that. Later I explained that the porridge is also something many Muslims would eat during Ramadan as well.”

Prince Harry had also shared about how impressed he was at a silat performance he had witnessed earlier in the day. “He was amazed at how the young kids [were able to perform], especially while they were fasting,” said Nazhath.

And then the conversation steered towards the recent London attack, which Nazhath said was an “unavoidable topic”. Recounted Nazhath, “He shared how it was important for the community to stand together against it. He emphasised that the individuals who do these [attacks] are not part of any religion or any community. They are individuals who do evil acts and it’s important for the community to stand together.”

Besides exchanging views on global current affairs as well as sharing more about MYAP to the Prince, Nazhath said His Royal Highness had also taken interest in Singapore’s national food.

“I did share with him that there’s no one national food because we’re multicultural. There are very different famous foods – there’s chicken rice, there’s laksa, there’s fish curry, there are so many,” she said. “He appreciated the diversity [in Singapore]. He shared that diversity is very important.”

At the end of her meeting with the prince, Nazhath admitted that she felt like she was walking on air. “After that, when my friends saw all the pictures and the videos and everything, everybody started to message me on my phone. My phone went buzzing, everybody was like ‘Is that you?’’ It was difficult to get me on ground. Everybody was curious about what we talked about.”

In between laughs and discussions with the prince, Nazhath also found their conversation a “purposeful” one, in which she was able to exchange views as well as share more about MYAP with the prince.

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