Last night, Muslim Women For co-hosted an interfaith Iftar with Shoulder to Shoulder’s Ramadan Road Trip, Neighborly Faith, Triangle Interfaith Advocates for Refugees and Immigrants, Beth Meyer Congregation, and Church World Service.
Shoulder to Shoulder recorded the stories of participants which will be used in their efforts to counter discrimination and violence against Muslims.
Our co-founder, Lela Ali, stopped by the booth to talk about the importance of this event during Ramadan and why Muslim Women For chose to partner with Shoulder to Shoulder’s Ramadan Road Trip.
You can follow the rest of the stops on the Ramadan Road Trip through Shoulder to Shoulder’s Facebook page.
Additionally, there were multiple break out sessions which gave attendees the opportunity to get to know one another, speak about issues that they are passionate or curious about and begin the work of true relationship building.
In a world that seems to be increasingly intolerant, we saw both Muslim and Jewish prayers occurring. We saw people who had never been in our space feel right at home. We saw people raving and rushing to try some of Sister Jazz’s famous bean pies. We believe in our community.
We witnessed difficult conversations happening and people thinking and each person trying to understand the other.
We believe that the most important aspect of this event is that folks got the opportunity to engage with people in their community, who might have different beliefs but ultimately share a human experience.
During the event we collectively took a moment of silence to reflect on anyone that had been a victim of hate-based violence. The Light House Project’s physical space is a constant reminder of hate-based violence and the danger of a single story.
We were so happy to host new and familiar faces. In the past we have held iftars at the Light House Project that center around using Ramadan to revitalize one’s social justice lens. The Light House has its own programming during Ramadan called “Feed The Love.” This is where converts can come break fast in community.
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