Friday 19 July 2013

SOAS Students Break Fast with Homeless

The Huffington Post (15 July 2013) reports on the effort of students from the School of Oriental and African Studies to share their iftar meal (to break their fast) with members of the community by setting up a "Ramadan Tent":

"Students from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) are welcoming the public to their "Ramadan Tent" during Islam's holy month. The university, in Bloomsbury, is being used as the site where iftar, the sunset meal which breaks the fast, will be served.

Omar Salha, an SOAS alumnus, says he came up with the idea because he wanted to connect with communities.
"We want this Ramadan campaign to challenge some of the misconceptions people have about Islam. But it's also about connecting with all communities on a more humanistic level. It's only right that as Muslims and Londoners we serve the wider London community in the spirit of Ramadan.
"Some residents from St Mungo's saw our advert in their residence and came," he continued, saying he was particularly keen to reach out to those ostracised by society. "They were reluctant to say who they were at the beginning, but later said they were happy that there are still people reaching out to them."
 "The purpose of Ramadan Tent is to understand and appreciate the importance of charity and remembering those less fortunate than us; to join in the practise of sharing and caring and charitable duties towards our family, our local community and our nation.
"To invite the homeless and the poor and not turn them away, even if all we can give is half a date; to say a good word, to smile, to safeguard our environment and pick up rubbish and above all else to keep peace and good relations between people."












Thursday 18 July 2013

Boston Globe Annual Photography Feature

For the last few years the Boston Globe has published a great feature on Ramadan on its The Big Picture.  You can see the pictures for 2011 here, 2012 here and 2013 below and here.



























source for all images here