Richardson Texas Stake hosts Islamic Guests for Ramadan Iftar Dinner

Members of the Richardson Texas Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted guests from  Raindrop Foundation and Dialogue Institute Dallas, all members of the Richardson Interfaith Alliance, for an iftar dinner on June 9, 2018,  in observance of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Timed precisely at sunset, the evening meal of iftar ends Muslim’s daily fast during Ramadan, a period of fasting, introspection, and prayer by Muslims across the globe, celebrating ‘the best of times’ and commemorating the first time the Koran was revealed to Muhammad, according to Islamic belief. Each day during Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset and are 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, the 17th of May 2018 and ended on Thursday, the 14th of June 2018.

This interfaith sharing of an iftar supports the mission of the Richardson Interfaith Alliance to increase respect and understanding for all faiths with the goal of bringing faith-based groups together to solve community problems.

“Events such as these help organizations and religions to come together and experience the diversity in their beliefs, as well as discovering similarities,” said LDS Richardson Stake Public Affairs Director Angela Reese. “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.”

Emrah Aktepe, Executive Director of the Dialog Institute Dallas, also embraces this goal and 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 very 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, and was followed by Kamil Celik, a board member at the Dialogue Institute, who gave an overview and explanation of Ramadan and its associated practice of daily fasting and caring for the poor.

Stan Poulson, from the Richardson Texas 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.

The delicious food was provided by the Raindrop Foundation, and at 8:35 PM, the moment the sunset, 30 members of the Richardson Stake and approximately 65 of their Muslim guests enjoyed the Turkish feast.

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 our commonalities, and working together on challenges by focusing on our common values, we will certainly build a stronger, safer, and more peaceful community.