Mumbai: Along with prayers and fasting, the holy month of Ramadan also brings appetising delicacies for sehri and iftar. The lavish extravagant iftar parties of Mumbai are well known for the luscious meals and starstruck appearances, but this year a lot of iftar party organisers in the city have prevented themselves from organising and attending such grand parties in wake of the violence in Manipur and Palestine.
Throwing sumptuous parties for iftar during the month of Ramadan has become a normal phenomenon in Mumbai due to the parties organised by various actors, politicians and other bigwigs of the city.
However, this year various organisations and individuals from the Muslim community are calling out such parties as a photo-op opportunity and are pledging against organising or participating in such lavish parties.
In the wake of recent communal tensions in Manipur and Palestine, people are requesting people to share their pain in this holy month. Various mosques and organisations have also asked people to prevent such grand parties and instead donate that money to the needy people and children suffering from hunger.
Shuaib Khatib, chairman of the famous Jumma Masjid located in Kalbadevi, said that the mosque will not organise extravagant iftar this year unlike every year’s arrangement where around 2500 people join iftar daily throughout the month.
“Jumma masjid has always boycotted political iftar parties which are not organised in local masjid and are instead organised for other purposes. The main aim of following a roza is to realise the condition of hunger. We have decided that this year we will organise an iftar for policemen and municipal workers instead,” said Khatib.
A collective consensus is being formed against these lavish parties within the Muslim community. A group of youngsters from the community have been reaching out to such people to prevent such parties and instead donate that money to the needy people around them or to the children suffering from hunger in Manipur and Palestine.
Ali Bhojani, a member of the group, said, “A lot of people have been approaching us to donate their iftar fund for such a purpose. We ask them to help the people around them and then to the children in Manipur and Palestine. Every year, we see grand parties where each plate costs around Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 4,000. We just want to send out a message to people that this year, iftar party is not important. We aren’t asking them to boycott it, but we are asking them to avoid extravagant parties.”
Several organisations have also decided to avoid extravagant iftar and inspire other people to prevent them. Masjid Youth Federation of Mira Bhayandar has also decided to prevent a lavish party and instead organise a small party with a public lecture about the current situation in Manipur and Palestine.
Saad Syed, social activist associated with the organisation, said, “I am associated with lot of such NGOs and all of them have decided to avoid grand parties this year. We will have iftar but won’t have 10 varieties of dishes. As a human being we have to stand with the people suffering from injustice and in such a time, these parties are not right, religiously and socially.”
Majid Khan, a politician who is known for his grand sehri party every year has also asked people to boycott lavish events this year. “People in war-torn areas don’t have food to survive therefore at least for this year we should avoid most parties. I have my birthday this week and I have decided not to celebrate my birthday as well. Instead, I will donate that amount of money to for medical treatments and food for poor children.”
