East London Mosque Arrange Citizens Iftar, an Interfaith Event

The East London Mosque will cater for Olympic competitors, and will also conduct a Citizens Iftar, as an interfaith event.

The East London Mosque has specifically planned activities and events for the summer, such as an Islam & Muslim Heritage Exhibition, where visitors can find out about the history of the East London Mosque, Muslim beliefs, art and culture. They’ll also be running regular timed tours of the Mosque.

A citizen's Iftar will take place on August 2, an interfaith event that over 3000 people are expected to attend. Night prayers at the Mosque are also expected to attract over 5000 worshippers every night throughout the month.

The Mosque said: “We feel this is a good opportunity for many people all over the world, including the many Olympic visitors we are hosting in London, to join in the festivities that come along with Ramadan. The Muslim community is happy as ever to welcome fellow Muslims to London.”

For Muslim athletes, however, the situation is particularly difficult. An estimated 3000 Muslims will participate in the Games, and they will need to choose whether to fast and potentially risk their athletic performance, or defer from the fasting requirements. Muslim athletes participating in the Olympic Games this year include British rower Mohamed Sbihi and French boxer Rachid Azzedine.

According to the East London Mosque, the decision whether or not to fast is for individual athletes to make. They said that it may be unsuitable for Muslim athletes to fast if they are “competing in a highly strenuous sport, which requires them to replenish fluids at which point they will have to make compensations for fasts deferred or missed.” Athletes could, however, “feel enlightened spiritually by fasting, hence giving them an edge over other athletes when they are competing in the games.”

Either way the Mosque says it is ready to take care of the needs of Muslim athletes if they wish to visit during prayer or Iftar times.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Board Member for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, told ELL that the dates for the Olympics were chosen by the International Olympics Committee and that LOCOG “had to work within that”. Therefore, they concentrated on making facilities available for the athletes and spectators who fast during Ramadan.

The Olympic Village will include a large multi-faith centre, with a common lounge and specific areas for the five largest faiths. Bari said: “We are very proud to provide such a large multi-faith facility with dozens of chaplains from all religions.”

The LOCOG Faith Services Team will also provide break-a-fast packs for Muslims observing Ramadan during the Games. Halal food and prayer room facilities will also be available at Olympic venues.

Bari said that he had been questioning the Board on issues of diversity and inclusion at every stage of planning and it had been a key consideration of LOCOG in delivering the games.

“LOCOG appointed recruiters to ensure that diversity and equality was considered when employing workers and awarding contracts to businesses,” he said. “I am assured that the recruitment levels reflect the proportion of minorities in the United Kingdom.”

Commenting on the legacy of the Games, Bari said that the regeneration and infrastructure that will be left behind after the Olympics will provide “tangible benefits” to local communities in East London.

London 2012 Olympics Faith Logo

Source: East London Mosque

Photo Credit: East London Lines