The month of Ramadan is a great opportunity for some to show solidarity with each other, to get closer to Allah but also a moment of sharing. Muslim communities around the world do not miss the appointment this month to organize events open to the general public in order to make Islam known.
On Saturday April 2, 2022, hundreds of Muslims gathered in Times Square to celebrate the start of this year’s Ramadan and break the fast together among Muslims. To this end, 1,500 meals were distributed between 44th and Broadway, on the evening of the first day of Ramadan.
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“For Muslims, it’s not just about fasting to understand how food insecure people feel. In fact, we do this to get closer to our creator, our lord, Allah, and to better fight him,” explained one of the members of the SQ, organizers of this event.
Indeed, this great Iftar aims to make known what Islam is to those who do not know it. “We are here to explain our religion to everyone who does not know what Islam is,” he said. “Islam is a religion of peace”.
Times Square animated by the prayer of Tarawih, the first day of Ramadan
Times Square, New York, hosted its very first Tarawih prayer on Saturday April 2, 2022, with the aim of bringing more New Yorkers closer to the Islamic religion. However, several people from the Muslim community expressed their dissatisfaction, especially on social networks about the course of the event in this busy place.
Indeed, many Muslim New Yorkers have expressed concern about holding religious events there, believing that prayers in the presence of gigantic, bustling billboards will not bridge the gap between Muslims and the community. at large. “Tarawih is meant to be an intimate form of prayer. I don’t understand why this has to be done in Times Square. Have you seen the billboards? said Queens resident Sabrina Jamil.
Farah Zaidi, who lives in Brooklyn, believes that despite organizers’ claims, it’s unclear what the public event will accomplish beyond serving as a spectacle “Are they going to completely silence Times Square, which is literally the loudest place to be with loud music everywhere, while they recite the most beautiful words of Allah?”
Another resident, Sami Rizwan, said the funds used by the SQ to finance and organize such an event could have been used to feed the city’s homeless or other vulnerable groups.
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