Sunday, July 3rd, 7:30pm, in Sarasota, FL
Women praying in the mosque. Non-Muslims were invited to join and pray together
Around 60 Jews, Christians, Sufis, and Universalists joined nearly 200 people from the Muslim community for an interfaith iftar dinner at the Islamic Society of Sarasota and Bradenton (ISSB). This was the culmination of five months of interfaith text study in Sarasota organized by the Abrahamic Reunion, including Unity of Sarasota, St Thomas More Catholic Church, Temple Sinai, Temple Beth Sholom, Rising Tide International, and the ISSB. Before breaking the fast together, we went on a tour of the mosque, where Imam Yousuf Memon explained Ramadan and fasting.
Imam Yousuf explained that fasting is not just about abstaining from food and water. It also means abstaining from “using foul language, harming any individual, doing anything that goes against our religious belief”. Ramadan is a time of spiritual cleansing, he explained. It is a time to refresh one’s relationship with God.
Imam Yousuf Memon explains that the writings on the walls are verses from the Qur’an
He then took time to answer any questions anyone had about Islam. The questions covered a wide variety of topics, including what the writings on the walls mean (they are verses from the Qur’an), when the hours of prayer are (five times a day, with the exact times depending on the sunrise and sunset), the significance of the Qur’an (reading the Qur’an is itself considered an act of worship), and what would be happening during the course of the evening (breaking the fast, evening prayer, dinner, and then the nightly prayer).
Towards the end, Imam Yousuf was asked what he thought the bridge between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity was. He replied that “even though we may be worshiping God differently, but ultimately we all believe in God…we all believe in respecting one another, taking care of one another, helping one another” and the same Abrahamic morals are present in the three religions. He explained that there are far more similarities than differences, and that it’s not one single bridge that connects the religions. “There’s a lot of bridges that are there”.
“…we share a lot of things as far as beliefs, as far as the way we live, the way we deal with people”
After the tour, we returned to the courtyard to break the fast with dates, water, fruit, and juice. As we ate, we talked with each other and got to know one another. As people talked and listened to each other, new similarities were uncovered.
The fast is traditionally broken with water and dates. The mosque provided fruit and juice as well.
When it was time to pray, the members of the mosque made sure that the guests felt comfortable and that there were chairs available for anyone who wanted to sit down. Prayers lasted about five minutes, and then everyone came together again in the courtyard to eat.
After breaking the fast, we all went into the mosque to pray. Men went downstairs, and women went upstairs.
Again, the members of the mosque went above and beyond to make us feel at home. Even though they had fasted all day and most of us had not, they made sure we had food first, and plenty of it. Imam Yousuf and the mosque members were wonderful hosts, and made the evening truly special. The rest of the night was spent talking and laughing together, a group of people united by faith, not divided by it. Imam Yousuf said there were many bridges, and another one was built that night at the mosque.
Everyone enjoyed a wonderful evening at the mosque together
