Ramadan Iftar Tent

Dialogue Forum, together with Old St. Joseph's Church, hosted a special Iftar dinner under a tent in Center City Philadelphia. The tradition in some Muslim countries of setting up tents to offer iftar dinners to the poor and needy is first adopted in Philadelphia this year. It was a three-days event which was held on September 2-4, 2010. The event brought people of different faiths and backgrounds together to break bread and learn more about each other. Nearly one hundred and fifty people gathered together under this tent to break fast each night. “We recognize that our religion is one of many and we are joyous about that,” said Lou Oschmann, a member of the Ecumenical & Interfaith Committee at Old Saint Joseph’s Church. “We want to dialogue with people of other religions about how peaceful our relationship with other religions should be.”

The event started with a speech by different scholars each day about Ramadan, Islam and Dialogue. The crowd started the dinner with the traditional Muslim call to the prayer, “adhan”, and enjoy the traditional Turkish food, including Baklava and Dolma. After the dinner, traditional Turkish music was performed by different musicians each night. The guests had also tried Turkish coffee, and learn more about the Islam at the exhibitions of "Ebru" and "Calligraphy". “It’s great,” said Kristin Lockett, who found out about the dinner while walking in Center City. “I love the whole interfaith experience. I learned alot about Ramadan tonight. I’ve had personal interaction with a Turkish community. So it’s been great for me.”

Original at: http://news.ebru.tv/en/USA/16909