Celebrating Iftar at the Senior Center

By Asmaa Abou-Fouda and Edward Deveau

On Friday April 29th, approximately one hundred Muslim and non-Muslim members of our community came together at the Rosetti-Cowan Senior Center to learn about Ramadan and to participate in the joyful and culinary event that is an Iftar.

The Iftar, is a holy tradition that takes place every evening throughout the 30 days of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset, they attend communal prayer services in the mosque, they read the Qur’ān (the Muslim Holy Bible), and they ask God to forgive their sins. Ramadan is to Muslims what Lent is to Christians, Yom Kippur to Hebrews and the Buddhist Lent to Buddhist. Different religions, different rites, different languages, different cultures. Yet, all of them have a common goal; attaining humility and the capability for forgiveness through fasting and praying to the one God, who goes by many different names.

The Iftar Organizing Committee is truly grateful to everyone who came out to make this a truly blessed and joyful event. We would specifically like to thank:

•     Revere Cares/Revere on The Move, The Beachmont Improvement Committee, and the Revere Human Rights Commission (HRC) for their financial support.

•     State Senator Lydia Edwards, State Representatives Jeff Turco, City Councilors Ira Novoselsky and Patrick Keefe, Jr., Kim Hanton representing the Mayor’s Office, the many members of the HRC who were in attendance, the Community Ambassadors, the many civic groups who were represented, and the diverse group of people representing all religions and ethnicities.

•     Imam Tarek for his presence, for leading the Iftar prayers and for his moving words regarding the importance of Ramadan.

•     And finally, to the many attendees who helped in the Kitchen, served the meals, and stayed to help in the post Iftar clean-up. You showed what community and what great teamwork can accomplish.

The Islamic culture/Muslim religion is one of many religions and cultures that exist in Revere. It is our fervent wish that we can continue to work together to respect and celebrate all our city’s cultures and religions, and that we as a community remain strongly committed to increasing awareness, acceptance, and inclusion for all who live in our city.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.