This week on Curious Orange (the radio show)…
Islam not on the menu at Ramadan feast
Iftar feast
Muslims in the Netherlands have been given a hard time of it recently, so it is perhaps natural that they are trying to counter some of the bad press they receive. All over Amsterdam, communities are organising iftar feasts, where people of all faiths can get together and share some food.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is about abstinence and fasting, but when the sun goes down and the fast is broken with the traditional iftar meal it’s also a time for socialising with friends and family.
Free food
Around a hundred people attended the iftar in Amsterdam’s eastern Indische Buurt district, many lured by the promise of free food and an evening’s entertainment. And although the point of the meal is to break the fast after sundown every evening during a holy month, the one subject that wasn’t on the menu was Islam.
Jos Sandvliet, from the Accu foundation, which helped organised the event, said:
“We’re trying to get different people from the neighbourhood around the table with each other, and celebrate each others’ holidays. That’s why we had a rabbi and a priest - there’s no Imam, they’re a bit busy at this time of the year!”
Mostly non-Muslim
In fact Ben Ahmed Yerrou, from the Asri youth organisation, estimated 90 percent of the attendees were non-Muslim.
“It’s a pleasure to do this for the neighbourhood, for the young people, and families, to bring the neighbourhood together and have a lot of fun.”
The different kinds of food served at the iftar served as a reminder of the different communities in the Indische Buurt. Although the meal started with the traditional plate of dates - used across the Arab world to break the fast - it was followed by Indonesian spring rolls and Indian samosas and there was a distinct lack of anything resembling a slaughtered sheep.
Integration
But Ben Ahmed Yerrou was wary of calling it an exercise in integration:
“Integration is a big word. This is the first step to bring the people together in the neighbourhood. It’s really just a nice moment to learn from each other.”
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