Muslims in New York and across the world are marking the holy month of Ramadan by breaking their daily fast each evening, but occasionally they’ll be joined by Jewish friends.
These include Rabbi Joshua Stanton, who will join Jews and Muslims on Friday at his synagogue, East End Temple in Gramercy, for a “vegetarian, halal, kosher-style” Turkish meal followed by “deep dialogue.”
“I think that the time of year is of such significance to Muslim colleagues and friends that it lends itself to something more soulful,” Stanton said. “This is about moving beyond platitudes into conversations about our families and our day-to-day lives where we find meaning and where we sometimes are at a loss for meaning.”
The dinner is organized by the New Jersey-based Peace Islands Institute and is part of what some Muslim leaders say has been a welcome trend in recent years: efforts by members of various faiths to find common cause with Islamic communities. Ramadan is expected to begin Wednesday, after the sighting of the crescent moon over Mecca.
It's such a fun time. It makes you kind of think and get out of your normal routine. So I'm looking forward to that.
Sadaf Jaffer, a member of the New Jersey Assembly and a former mayor of Montgomery Township – and the first Muslim woman to serve as a mayor in the U.S. — said the so-called Muslim travel ban instituted under the Trump administration brought the community’s difficulties “to the fore and brought it to the attention of a lot of neighbors and friends. ‘Hey, we need to kind of support the Muslim community, learn about them, and as a way to combat hate.’”
At times, the services go in both directions.
Associate Rabbi Andy Kahn at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York said his congregation will participate in an interfaith iftar on March 30 at the Islamic Center of North America in Queens, and would also host its own iftar with Peace Islands Institute on April 7.
The iftar, Kahn said, followed Shabbat services, which would include remarks by Emre Celik, the executive director of the Institute, who was previously the project coordinator for a Holocaust Education Project designed for Muslim students.
“By standing together, building bridges and bonds of friendship and mutual respect, and taking the time to show up for each other during important moments, we are strengthening both of our communities, which is important to do during times of celebration (such as Ramadan) as well as times of difficulty,” Kahn wrote in an email.
He added that by “times of difficulty” he was referring both to antisemitism and “ongoing Islamophobia facing Muslim communities nationwide.”
For some Muslims, the iftar, an evening meal where the fast is broken after prayers, serves as an opportunity to draw attention to domestic politics.
In 2017, MPower Change, a progressive Muslim organization, held an iftar outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan, a deliberately confrontational gesture, according to Ishraq Ali, the group’s organizing director.
This year, said Ali, the group intends to hold an iftar with refugees in mind.
“Muslims that are asylum-seekers coming into the country are looking to be grounded in community,” Ali said.
Other Muslim groups are using the month to address political issues abroad.
Hena Zuberi, the director of advocacy at Chicago-based organization Justice for All, said the group’s Save Uyghur campaign asks Muslims to “fast” from Chinese-made products this Ramadan. This is due to the ongoing repression of Muslims in China and reports from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that religious fasting is treated as a sign of extremism.
“We will also be using this time to call for more food aid for Rohingya as well as resettlement of 10,000 Rohingya and 10,000 Uyghur in the United States,” Zuberi said in an email, adding that the group will also use Ramadan to share its report “The Nazification of India” with interfaith partners.
Jaffer said she intends to speak in support of making January “Muslim Heritage Month” at an interfaith iftar on March 30, at Montgomery Township’s Blawenburg Reformed Church. Ultimately, however, she sees Ramadan as an opportunity for people to gather and enjoy each other’s company over a meal.
“It's such a fun time,” Jaffer said. “It makes you kind of think and get out of your normal routine. So I'm looking forward to that.”
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Ishraq Ali and Hena Zuberi.
