WORSHIPPERS at Oxford’s oldest mosque opened their doors to the community to join them in breaking the fast for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Ramadan, which celebrates the first time the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, sees Muslims fasting between sunrise and sunset – neither eating nor drinking anything between approximately 5am and 9pm.

Up to 300 people packed Bath Street Mosque, off St Clement’s, to join an ‘Iftar’ meal at sunset – eating a single date as the sun set, before praying and then sharing a meal of lamb biryani, chickpeas, samosas and fruit juice, prepared in the adjoining kitchen.

Guests included the Leader of Oxford City Council, Susan Brown, councillor Jamila Azad, representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Hindu faiths, the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times and Thames Valley Police.

Moznu Miah is chairman of Oxford Mosque Society, based at Bath Street Mosque. He said: “It has been good to show people of other faiths the mosque, show what happens here and break the fast together. It is important to come together as a community and as friends as we live side by side.”

He thanked the mosque’s neighbours for their understanding during Ramadan, saying: “They have been very good to us and we apologise for any disturbance.”

Other guests included Jawaid Mali, chairman of Oxford Council of Faiths; fellow member Penny Faust; and Dr Sheikh Hojjat Ramzy, director of the Oxford Islamic Information Centre.

Dr Ramzy said all were welcome at the city’s mosques for Iftar. He said: “Our Prophet said if you are going to eat, you should also ask your neighbour and make sure your neighbour has enough food to eat. Our neighbours are our community and they should be able to enjoy what we enjoy.

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“We share with friends and families, brothers and sisters in humanity – and we share by nature.

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“In Oxford, relations within our community are good –better than many other places. We join events together and find similarity between our faiths and work with that. When we work together we can understand each other better, get a dialogue going – and all the phobias go away.

“We are working together for the same thing because we are all brothers and sisters.”

The Iman of Stanley Road Mosque, told the gathering on Wednesday: “Fasting raises our consciousness of God. It is a month of reflection, reckoning and taking stock and helps us relate to those less fortunate: the needy, poor and dispossessed.”

The beginning and end of Ramadan is determined by the lunar calendar and ends when the new moon is sighted. It continues until June 4 and is followed by the Eid al-Fitr celebration, which will take place on June 5.

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