India: Virtual Interfaith Iftar

Iftar (breaking fast) by Muslims often bring people of different faiths joining fasting Muslims in spiritual solidarity. Kombai S Anwar, a Documentary film maker and historian has been organizing such iftars with people of different faiths at the historic Wallajah Mosque, Chennai, since 2017. This year owing to the pandemic, he organized an interfaith iftar on a virtual platform and streamed it live on 15 May 2021.

At the outset, Prof Abdul Rahman, head of the Centre for Islamic Studies at the University of Madras spoke about the significance of the month of Ramadan in the lives of Muslims. Following him Joseph Victor Edwin SJ, Lecturer, Theology and Christian-Muslim Relations at Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi, shared his insights on Christian-Muslim Relations in the context of the Holy month of Ramadan drawing from the Annual Letter of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to the Muslim brothers and sisters around the world. Mr Kumar, a Sindhi Hindu, member of the Sufidar Trust, who been serving iftar at the historic Wallajah mosque for well over three decades spoke about the vision behind their Hindu community serving fasting Muslims every year and how they missed it amidst the pandemic.

This was a followed by a soul stirring rendering of a Punjabi Sufi song by Ms Izza Ahsan, a musician from Calicut. Ms Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin, a journalist, spoke about the Shias practices of the Gujarati speaking Bohra Muslim community in Chennai in the month of Ramzan. Writer Shazia Andaleeb, an Urdu Muslim from Bangalore living now in Chennai, shared her experience of Ramzan. The interesting part was a discussion between Huda Ahsan, a researcher in Gender, Sexuality, and Inclusivity in Islam, along with Shazia and Tasneem, on the treatment of women in Islam and how culture is disguised as religion and presented at times.

Aravindan Kannaiyan, who was following the event from US, commented on the virtual iftar saying "Kombai Anwar and his guests gave us a fantastic tour of Islamic heritage and cross cultural connections. It was heartening to see a Jesuit and a spokesperson from Sufidar trust (a Hindu sect), both connect spiritually across borders. A good succinct introduction to the rich tapestry of Muslim communities that are all commonly thought of as broadly just, "Muslim". Then there was frank discussion on gender issues." Virtual iftar was a truly an interfaith celebration of the spirit of Ramzan in these difficult times.