By IINA,
London : Capitalizing on the holy fasting month’s spirit of charity and sharing, young British Muslims are spreading the joy of Ramadan among London homeless with free Iftar meals. “During Ramadan we Muslims get a glimpse of what it is like to be hungry,” Miqdad Asaria, who came up with the idea of homeless Iftar, told The Guardian yesterday. “I thought, ‘What better time to share our food with those who are hungry all year?'” Every Tuesday, Asaria and other young Muslims come to London’s Lincoln’s Inn Fields where many homeless men and women wait their generous weekly visitors. Once they arrive, the young Muslims fan across the park with different kinds of food and drinks to share with the less fortunate.
They then perform the Maghrib prayer in one corner while another group is offering hot meals for hungry and homeless non-Muslims. During the month, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset. Ramadan, the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar, is a time for Muslims to feel closer to God through prayer, charity work and self-restraint. Asaria, a 27-year-old computer scientist, believes the initiative brings a double benefit, helping young Muslims reach out to the local community and have greater awareness. “I wanted to make the point that Muslims shouldn’t only be looking overseas when they think about problems – there are plenty of problems in this country,” he explains. “The Muslims who turn up don’t know each other, so this is a social thing for them too.”
Britain is home to a sizable, multi-ethnic Muslim minority of nearly two million, mainly from Pakistani, Bengali and Indian backgrounds. Once he arranged the first free Iftar two weeks ago, Asaria set up a Facebook page for the initiative. During the first week, a hundred young Muslims turned up asking to take part. The following week, attendance was up to more than 150 Muslims. Footage of the Iftar was also uploaded on to YouTube in a bid to spread the message around. The idea even drew the attention of other communities with Indian restaurants asking the Muslim group to take the Iftar idea further. Asaria still remembers the first time they arrived to the park with the food. “The homeless people were quite taken aback. “They’re used to having food thrown out to them from the back of a van, but for us it was about sharing what we had and getting to know those we were eating with,” he noted. “It’s an example of taking something inspired by our values and using it to embrace the wider community.