On March 10, an interfaith iftar brought unity amongst cultures, the goal of the event was bringing communities together and celebrating diversity through dinner, but also to educate the public about Ramadan and Lent. The event was organized by the Egyptian Student Association (ESA), Muslim Student Association (MSA), Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) and Coptic Orthodox Jags.
The odds of Ramadan and Lent coinciding are very rare, however they do overlap every 30 to 33 years. This year is especially peculiar because the start of Ramadan and Lent happened on the same day. It is because of this peculiarity, student organizers started talking about having the event early on.
“I had this plan in mind from last year, but I was like we need to get this done because it's a special year, and I want this event to take place just to show the people of IU how there is harmony in the Middle East despite all the news they hear and promote the idea that we can live together even though we might disagree on some things and agree on others but we still live in harmony without any fights,” said the President of the Egyptian Student Association Peter Remala.
The event started with a recitation of a Quran passage by Faris Safiia, a member of the Muslim Student Association, followed by presentations of Ramadan and Lent, educating the public of the traditions and nature of Ramadan and Lent. One of the hopes of the event was to provide a learning experience for IU students.
“I want people to learn, people to walk in not knowing anything either about Lent or Ramadan and I want them to leave knowing a lot, I also want them to enjoy the event.” said the President of Muslim Student Association Ayah Mahariq.
The event's purpose is to show unity not only through cultural presentations, but also through a fundraising aid campaign to Lebanon organized by Waad Al-Hbeish, president of (MESA). Students served an array of mocktails throughout the evening, donating the collected funds for Al-Hbeish’s Lebanon campaign.By the end of the evening the event raised over $1000.The uniqueness of this event resides on how student leaders are directly contributing to make the world a better place.
“In Ramadan, giving is something really big and part of fasting. Same as well as Lent and that is why we decided to have somewhere for people to donate and give during our event,” said the MESA President Waad Al-Hbeish.
After cultural presentations, muslim and christian prayers took place before breaking the fasting. Student’s commitment to harmony across religions showed how muslims and christians can enjoy praying with one another.
After the prayers, the attendees broke their fasts. The food at the event was traditional Arab cuisine, with foods like mansaf, kushari, mandi rice, falafel and basbouseh.
The interfaith iftar was a cultural and learning experience for some attendees.
“This month is about sharing, this is the month of compassion so being in the same room with other people with different faith brings the community together so I feel like this is the most beautiful event that we have so far on campus,” said Mumina Abdurakhmonova, a graduate student of finance at IU Indianapolis.
The interfaith iftar event was an evening of community gathering and celebration where students from different backgrounds joined together and despite their differences decided to share a meal and enjoy fasting together.
Cristina Bueno, an undergraduate double majoring in anthropology and journalism, is a current copy editor for The Campus Citizen. In her free time, she likes to read, bake and hike.
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