A backyard iftar celebrating breaking the Ramadan fast

by Tasnuva Khan,
guest contributor

Hello Petworth neighbors! This week marks the fourth and final week of Ramadan, a very special time for more than a billion Muslims around the world, including many of our neighbors.

Along with being a time when many Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Ramadan is a time for reflection, a re-dedication to bettering ourselves, spending time with family and friends, and… sharing food!

A couple of my fellow Petworth friends and I are inviting you all to come out to a potluck iftar, the meal to break the day's fast, Thursday evening, June 22nd 7:30-9:30pm at Sherman Circle around sundown. Come out to hang with your friends and grab some grub, and perhaps also meet some of your Muslim neighbors and chat!

We love outdoor iftars, and the weather (fingers crossed!) is looking great! We also plan to bring out one of our telescopes if the sky is clear.

Petworth is one of the most community-oriented neighborhoods we’ve ever lived in, and we love it. We want to build on that neighborly Petworth spirit by inviting you all out to a lovely night under the stars to meet some neighbors you may have never met before - and perhaps even learn a few new things about each other.

A tasty bowl of chotpoti, a popular Bengali dish.

It'd be hard to deny there’s been a lot of hate and negativity around us recently, and as Muslims, intolerance towards the Muslim community has felt particularly personal. I read an article recently that stated more than 60% of Americans have rarely or never interacted with a Muslim. We want to give our neighbors the chance to meet people of this incredibly diverse group and have friendly, open conversations.

However, while this event is centered around Ramadan, our goal is strengthened relationships among all our neighbors. We believe by breaking bread together we can learn about one another and help dispel some of the stereotypes, fears and negative feelings that may exist between many communities. In times like these, we feel it is especially important to get to know our neighbors and stand with each other.

This event is open to everyone. We encourage you all to bring your friends and families. Since this is technically a potluck, we'd appreciate if you could bring a small dish to share (but don't let not having a dish stop you from coming!). As an FYI, many Muslims do not eat pork or drink alcohol. Sundown is around 8:35, and Muslims who are fasting will be breaking their fast then.

We look forward to seeing you!

See the Facebook Event page for more information or to RSVP!

About the Author

Tasnuva Khan is a health data researcher originally from the West Coast. She often volunteers at the National Air and Space museum, where she gets to combine her loves of astronomy and education.

She lives in Petworth with her husband and loves DC, though a little less so in the winter.