Ramadan For Christians: We Can Celebrate Together!

interfaith iftar — “Cupcake Camp” by tarale is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Ramadan is coming to an end soon – for this year. But it will come around again, roughly April 2 – May 2, 2022. There are ways that Christians can come alongside our Muslim sisters and brothers. Let me tell you about what we did in Rockford, Illinois. I hope you’ll be inspired to start planning a similar event in your neck of the woods for next Ramadan!

As I’ve talked about before, I got involved with interfaith work when Candidate Trump began talking about having a Muslim Ban if he got elected. I had several Muslim acquaintances and friends, and I knew they were nervous – not so much about the ban itself, but about being targeted by ignorant Americans. You might remember that there were a number of attacks on Muslims back then. Their fear was warranted.

Long story short, I found a small crowd of progressive Christians, Universalists, and atheists, and we would wait outside the mosque at the end of their big weekly worship service on Friday afternoons. We held solidarity signs and let them know we cherished them.

That turned into an interfaith book club (ladies only), and the book club decided to organize a potluck iftar, and invite the Muslim women. The church next door to the mosque offered to host, which was perfect.

We made plans, decorated a room, and set up lots of tables. We brought lots of food – but it was barely enough because many women from the Muslim community came (the next year we did better). Everyone mingled and got to know someone new. It was a grand night! Such fun that we did it again and again (till Covid hit).

Below are some photos. (If you want more details, email me at [email protected] and I’ll tell you more. It’s not too early to start planning an interfaith iftar for next Ramadan!)