Members of the Richardson Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Garland, Richardson, Wylie and Sachse, hosted guests from the Raindrop Foundation and the Dialogue Institute Dallas, all members of the Richardson Interfaith Alliance, for an Iftar dinner this month.
Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, is a period of fasting observed by Muslims across the globe to celebrate “the best of times” and celebrates the first time the Koran was revealed to Muhammad, according to Islamic belief. It is a holy month of fasting, introspection and prayer for the followers of Islam. Fasting is one of the five fundamental principles of Islam. Each day during Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. They are also encouraged to avoid impure thoughts and sinful behavior that may negate the reward of fasting, such as false speech (insulting, backbiting, cursing, lying, etc.) This year Ramadan began Thursday, May 17 and ended Thursday, June 14.
Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast precisely at sunset.
Emrah Aktepe, executive director of the Dialog Institute Dallas, founded in 2002, explained:
“My main role at the institute as the executive director is to reach out to many nonprofits and houses of worship along with city, state officials and community leaders to meet and explore opportunities to cooperate.
Ramadan is a time where lots of shared dinners take place among families, relatives, neighbors, friends, etc. Most of us at the Dialogue Institute do not have many family members with us here so the idea came about to celebrate Ramadan with our neighbors. Since we worked closely with churches and other houses of worship for other programs we decided to start this new project from there. It has been several years since this tradition started and it is growing every year.
Due to the great response and positive feedback from last year, this year we ended up hosting two dinners at the center with different communities, one at a Sikh temple, one at a Synagogue, and 16 at various area churches. One of the most memorable Ramadan moments for me was to learn about the fasting and fast offerings Mormons observe every month.”
The evening began with three Turkish musical pieces performed by Polyphonics, an interfaith group. Kamil Celik, a board member at the Dialog Institute, gave an overview and explanation of Ramadan and its associated practice of daily fasting and caring for the poor. Stan Poulson, from the Richardson Stake then shared information on the similar LDS practices. When asked about the evening he said:
“Through the years, my international business relationships have allowed me to work closely with and observe Muslims practice their faith and I have always respected their religious devotion. Having the opportunity to break the fast with Muslims practicing Ramadan was personally a special experience and something I had never done before. We shared our beliefs in the values and benefits of fasting. The similarities were astounding. As part of the evening, I had the opportunity to also share that as part of an LDS fast we make a fast offering, a contribution equal to the value of the two meals we forgo while we are fasting. This money benefits those in need here in our local area and all over the world. Through this special event as we learned of each other, bonds of understanding and friendship were forged.”
A video about the Church’s welfare system was shown.
Food was provided by the Raindrop Foundation, and at 8:35 p.m., the moment the sunset, 30 members of the Richardson Stake and approximately 65 of their Muslim guests enjoyed the Turkish feast.
Angela Reese, Richardson Stake public affairs director summarized the event this way:
“Events such as this help organizations and religions to come together and experience the diversity in their beliefs; as well as discovering similarities. This contributes to the strengthening of the community through an understanding of each other’s beliefs. That, in turn, leads to a greater tolerance and respect for others.”
Recently, President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said:
“Study after study has shown how religious-based groups and approaches are important and effective in solving problems in families, communities, nations, and the world.”
By learning about each other, finding commonalities and working together on challenges by focusing on common values, we will build a stronger, safer and more peaceful community.