Getting together to eat at the end of a day of fasting during Ramadan, community iftars are open to people of all faiths and none have become a positive feature of our diverse society.
The Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester has held an iftar every year since 2013, except when the pandemic made that impossible. This year the meal was in Salford Civic Centre on 17th March, with 45 people attending, including Muslims, Jews, Christians, and people of no faith.
Forum Co-Chair Cllr Heather Fletcher was Master of Ceremonies. The Forum’s Co- Founder, Afzal Khan CBE, MP for Manchester Gorton, welcomed the guests. He noted that nearly 19 years had gone by since he and the late Henry Guterman MBE founded the Forum, during which it had held 147 events.
Graham Gordon who is the newest member of the Forum’s Executive Committee spoke about fasting in Judaism. He also shared his family’s South African connections – his late uncle, Rabbi Cyril Harris, was Chief Rabbi of South Africa and a friend of Nelson Mandela. Rizwan lqbal, CEO of Salaam Festival, who was attending for the first time, explained fasting in Islam. He reminded the guests that the revelation of the Quran had commenced during the month of Ramadan, and then he read out the first verses to be revealed.
Forum Co-Chair Mohammed Amin gave the vote of thanks, to the speakers and the caterers, he reminded the guests how by attending such events they are helping to build a cohesive community, one person at a time.
The Muslims were led in prayer by Forum Executive Member Cllr Rabnawaz Akbar. Islam has no priesthood, and any adult Muslim male can lead prayers. After the formalities were completed, all of the guests shared a delicious vegetarian curry, with kosher food being provided for those guests who had requested it. Robert Kanter who is Jewish said: “The Forum iftar was an enriching and enjoyable experience. The various talks emphasised the theme of fasting from different perspectives while also looking at commonalities and lessons which people from all faith backgrounds or none could draw inspiration and ideas from.
At this challenging time, with wider events in the Middle East, the event was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with people on a human level and to carry forward positive commitments to strengthening our bonds in the region.”
Alderman Nilofar Siddiqi, who is Muslim, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the iftar. All the speeches were very good, and I had interesting chats with Jewish people I met.”