Bahrain Mosque feeds thousands during Iftar in Ramadan

Manama - Sharing the spirits of the holy fasting month, a Bahraini mosque offers hundreds of free Iftar meals each day of Ramadan for Muslims and non-Muslims, seizing the opportunity to reveal the beauty of the faith, according to media reports.

“It started in 2000 and this person, who wished to remain anonymous, has been generous enough to ensure that there is enough food to feed anyone who walks into the tent to break their fast,” Mosque Supervisor Abdulrahman Bukhammal said.

“Every year, close to 12,000 people attend the Iftar during Ramadan and they are served with dates, rice and meat, water, yogurt and juice.”

Funded by an anonymous Bahraini Philanthropist, the daily Iftar meals are served at Bahrain’s biggest mosque, Ahmed Al Fateh Islamic Center (Grand Mosque) in Juffair.

With more than 400 meals offered every day, food is served in a tent at the mosque at evening prayers in Ramadan.

Started in 2000, the charitable initiative served only five persons at its first Iftar, compared to hundreds at the time being.

“When we first started the Iftar, it was just five people to whom we served food in a corner inside the mosque,” Bukhammal, who is a former oil engineer, stated.

“Then it went up to 200 and the mosque was getting dirty, so we put up a tent outside. Today this massive tent itself costs BD 4,000 ($10,600) for a month all borne by the (anonymous) sponsor.

Opening its doors for people from different faiths and nationalities, the Grand Mosque aims to represent the true-face of Islam by dispelling misconceptions.

“We don’t restrict meals to Muslims, as it is meant for the hungry,” Muharraq, who took voluntary retirement to serve at the mosque 20 years ago, stressed.

“We also at times have visitors, like those from the US Navy base, who say that they want to experience the custom.

“They are welcome, but we tell them they have to sit down and eat with their right hand, sharing with five others from a plate. This is the fellowship and sharing that the holy book teaches us.”

Besides serving free Iftar meals, the mosque offers daily religious lectures in Urdu, Hindi, English and Arabic on the importance of Ramadan and its benefits.

It also hosts the Qur’an lessons for non-Arabic speaker women.