Boston Globe: SHARON — About 125 public officials, civic and religious leaders, and area residents gathered at the Sharon Community Center recently as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Boston held its third annual Interfaith Iftar Dinner to celebrate the start of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.
According to Masroor Sajid, the group’s media relations volunteer, the July 11 dinner drew guests representing 15 religions. “It is a way of bringing all faiths under one roof,” he said, adding that the number attending has grown each year.
Guest speakers included Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz and state Senator Brian Joyce. Religious leaders such as Farhad Panthaki of the Zoroastrian Association of the Greater Boston Area also gave brief addresses.
At sunset, Muslims broke their daily Ramadan fast with juices and dates, and heeded the adhan call to prayer before sitting down to dinner.
For Ahmadis, a relatively small group within Islam, charity work and civic engagement are central components of a faithful life. Since 2011, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has held annual blood drives under the banner “Muslims for Life” as a way to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and more recently the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Categories: Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Americas, ISLAM, United States