Celebrating Interfaith Cooperation at SLCC through Iftar

Interfaith Iftar Planning Committee

In a real-life demonstration of cooperation, students from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and LDS faiths came to the podium to pray during a recent Interfaith Iftar at SLCC. The event, sponsored by Global Connections, Kurdish Student Leadership, International Student Services, and the Emerald Hills Institute, “is a way to promote understanding and cooperation among people of different religions,” said Pridhvi Subgani, president of the Global Connections Club.

Pridhvi Subgani

United in Prayer

Reading a passage from the Bible in both Arabic and English as his group’s contribution to the prayers, David McCoy from SLCC’s InterVarsity Christian Fellowship expressed his excitement for the interfaith event: “One thing that our club has wanted to do on campus is be more unified with the other faith communities. Hopefully, this is step one, and we can do more events with each other.”

David McCoy

Truleigh Newbold from LDSSA and Elana from Hillel Utah, a Jewish club at the University of Utah, also gave prayers. As the sun slipped below the horizon, Hamda Ibrahim from the Muslim Student Association concluded the interfaith prayers by reciting the Maghrib. Meaning West or Sunset, the Maghrib is the prayer that ends the day’s fast during Ramadan.

Hamda Ibrahim

United in Fasting

Iftar, an Arabic word that means breaking fast, marks the end of a day’s fast during Ramadan. Rumaisa, or Rumi, Mughal, a representative of the Multicultural Student Council, describes Ramadan as a sacred time about more than abstaining from food and drink from dawn till dusk. “It’s a journey of spiritual cleansing, self-discipline, and developing a deep empathy for those less fortunate,” she said.

Rumi Mughal (left) celebrates Ramadan with a friend at Interfaith Iftar.

Words from Emad, a Muslim community member, explain why Ramadan is an excellent opportunity for an interfaith event. “Ramadan is a collective ceremony where everybody, not just family, but also friends and neighbors, get together. It's not an individual thing. It's like Thanksgiving, but over a month. We take that opportunity, whenever possible, to celebrate with other fasting or non-fasting people. We’re happy to be here and participate in this interfaith activity.”

Muslim community members gather at SLCC to celebrate Ramadan at an Interfaith Iftar

In addition to the prayers from different religious groups, the program featured a slide presentation about the common practice of fasting among many other religions, including Christianity and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, and invited everyone from these different faiths and anyone in attendance to break their fast or Iftar with their Muslim brothers in a feast of rice and curry.

United in Feasting

Friends like Shayma and Maddie showed how cooperative people from different backgrounds can be as they patiently waited in a long food line to break their fast together.  Shayma, a Muslim,  said she invited her friend Maddie, a non-Muslim, to attend the Interfaith Iftar with her because  “it seemed like the perfect opportunity to spread knowledge, peace, unity, understanding, and good food.”

Friends Shayma (left) and Maddie (right) break their fast together at an Interfaith Iftar at SLCC.

A group of language students taking Arabic 101 said that besides coming for the food, they were excited to be there to learn more about the different customs they are studying in their classes and expressed an interest in seeing more interfaith activities at SLCC.

Arabic 101 students join in the Interfaith Iftar celebrations at SLCC

Emerald Hills Institute's advisory board coordinator, Zeynep Kariparduc, addressed the impact an interfaith event can have. “We wanted to host this event here because these students are the next generation, our future leaders. Creating this interfaith event will help them get to know each other. They will talk and reflect, and hopefully, they can be more open-minded and not hesitate to approach someone who does not look like them, maybe even become friends.” A nonprofit, the Emerald Hills Institute, “builds an inclusive community through active conversations among different faiths, cultures, and world views.”

Zeynep Kariparduc

Her first time keeping Ramadan, SLCC student Marseli embodied that sentiment with these words: " It's really comforting to come to spaces like this and to see so many people who are just loving and accepting and celebrating different community groups and are interested in understanding those better. World peace happens in community rooms like this.”

Friends Marseli (left) and Kara (right) at Interfaith Iftar

Understanding and Supporting One Another at SLCC

For Muslims living along the Wasatch front, Ramadan began on Sunday, March 10, and will end at sunset on Monday, April 8. The start and end of Ramadan last between twenty-nine and thirty days, depending on the first sight of the crescent moon during the lunar year. 

For those celebrating the Holy Month, SLCC wishes you a Ramadan Mubarak. Information about mediation rooms, religious accommodation requests, and a Ramadan 2024 Schedule can be found on the ODMA website.

There are many ways to support Muslims during Ramadan, especially students. For a great list of suggestions, please refer to “How to Support Muslim Students During Ramadan?” by the Emerald Hills Institute.