Muslims & Non-Muslims Welcome: 2 Community Iftars At Avenue C Plaza

The month-long Muslim holy event Ramadan is coming to an end. And during the final last days, community’s and families host iftar parties where people gather to break their fast.

And this week, there are two community iftar celebrations in Kensington — both of them at the Avenue C Plaza.

Both events are open to both Muslims and non-Muslims, so it’s a great opportunity to meet your neighbors, learn about an important holiday, and enjoy great food. Here’s what you need to know about both events:

The first iftar celebration is scheduled for tonight, Wednesday, June 21, presenting a mixture of food, mingling, and Muslims writers and activists speaking about their work.

It was organized by Arts & Democracy & ArtBuilt Mobile Studio with the support of the Kensington Stewards. We got a chance to speak with the project coordinator and lead organizer of the event, Community Activist Hasiba Haq.

“I really wanted people to experience Islam and Ramadan as Muslims do around the world. Ramadan is a special time for Muslims, whether religious or not, because it’s about self-reflection, knowledge seeking, and patience. It’s a month to give back, spend time with your family, and really center oneself,” Haq said.

“This event is also a small opportunity to take back the narrative and teach neighbors about Islam and Ramadan and let them learn a little more about their Muslim neighbors.”

Haq had realized that there aren’t as many community iftars in Kensington, even though the neighborhood is home to a large Muslim community. And she wanted to change that.

“I’d like us to continue building that sense of kinship and community with all of our Muslim and non-Muslim neighbors,” Haq said. “Organizing this event was especially important to me because, with all that is going on in the world, I want people to understand that Islam is not a monolith. There are 1.5 billion Muslims around the world and they all look different from one another, speak multiple languages and come from multiple traditions and backgrounds. That’s why I want people to taste iftar foods from different Muslim countries and understand that a Muslim can be anyone from anywhere.”

The event is completely free, and for those planning on attending, they should RSVP at rsvp@artsanddemocracy.org.

But that’s not all — there’s a second community iftar coming to Kensington.

*Note: The date on this flier is out-of-date, the Community Iftar will take place on Thursday, June 22.

This second iftar event will feature traditional Bangladeshi food. It was organized by Mohammad Mahab and Moinul Alam, activists and co-founders of the Bangladeshi American Center Of North America (BACONA) and Bound for Success Tutoring Center.

Though we could not get in touch with them by publication, we did have a chance to speak to them last year.