Hundreds of people from communities across Liverpool gathered at St George's Hall to observe the breaking of the fast during Ramadan.
The event took place on Tuesday (April 18) and aimed to help refugees meet members of the local Muslim community. An iftar is the meal Muslims first eat when they break their fast. It is often communal, spent with friends and family.
This iftar is the first time the Islamic call to prayer has been recited within the walls of St George's Hall. The event was organised with the support of the LFC Foundation, Islamic Relief, and the Liverpool Region Mosque Network (LRMN).
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Liverpool Region Mosque Network covered the hall’s expenses, while the LFC Foundation funded travel to and from the refugees’ hotels. Islamic Relief provided food for the night, free of charge, funded by donations. Food was vegetarian - falafel with the option of rice or chips. Traditional Pakistani tea from Chaiiwala was available in stalls outside the neoclassical building.
The event started with Toxteth’s Ahmed Qattani reciting the Islamic call to prayer before prayers took place. Each person was allocated dates and water to open their fast either before or after prayers.
Event organiser Tawhid Islam, 41, joined LRMN in 2019 and also manages his own accountancy firm. He told the ECHO: “Given what happened in Knowsley with the far-right, we wanted to counteract the negative reputation of refugees and connect them to each other for the first time.
“They’re very isolated in their hotels, and they will feel this more in Ramadan which many of them celebrate. "
In addition to the numerous Syrian, Afghan and Eritrean refugees, the event was attended by scousers of all nationalities.
Adam Shahed, 26, Islamic relief volunteer and IT manager, said: “There was a corner for every nationality there."
Also at the night's event was Omid Zohoori. The ECHO spoke to Omid, 33, last year, when he came to the UK as a refugee as part of the Home Office’s ARAP scheme.
When the ECHO spoke to Omid previously he was seeking work, he is now working as a field engineer and has an 11-month-old son. He said: “The event was amazing. I even saw a few colleagues from back home there that I hadn’t seen since I left Afghanistan.
“Everybody I’ve met in Liverpool has been very friendly.”
Ateeq Saliq, 33, left his training contract in law to work as Islamic Relief’s national fundraising manager. He runs events all over the country to promote their mission which includes combatting poverty and gender inequality.
He said: “Islamic Relief were set up with the intent to focus on international outreach, but we’ve grown to do work at home and want to continue this.
“There’s something in the water here; they have a very strong sense of community and a history of helping people from different backgrounds. This is unique to Liverpool.
“You can read 100 negative articles about refugees or Muslims but if you actually meet one it will change your perception.”
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