Eric Pickles praises Muslims

filed in Community, Event on 23 Jul 2014

The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government attended a Big Iftar event in Hounslow this month and used the occasion to praise the contribution Muslims make to British Society.  Iftar is the breaking of the fast each evening during Ramadan when Muslims fast during daylight hours.  The Ismaili Muslim Community in Hounslow opened their doors for good fellowship and good food and to show non Muslims what the holy month is all about. Ramadan is a time when members of the community give generously to charity. The group have been busy packing boxes of items to donate to homeless charities as part of the Share a Smile initiative.  During the evening Mr Pickles lent a hand to complete the last box.

Guests present included representatives of the different strands of Islam and Baha’i, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Sikh faiths.  Also present were the Yemeni Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Abdulla Ali Al-Rahdi, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the newly appointed Under Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government and Seema Malhotra, the MP for Feltham and Heston.

Living in Britain, Muslims are encouraged to reach out, to build bridges and to work with colleagues and neighbours around them who are not Muslim, to share their faith and build on their shared values.  The Big Iftar is a national initiative, started a year ago as a way of doing this.

Representatives of HFOF were pleased to accept generous invitations to two other iftar events this Ramadan, the Centre of Spirituality and Cultural Advancement in Feltham and the Darussalam Centre in Heston.