By the Grace of Allah, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Dudley, along with Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya Dudley and Majlis Ansarullah Dudley hosted the annual “The Big Iftar” event on 3^rd April 2024. Held at the Baitul Ghafoor Mosque, this event drew participants from various walks of life to partake in the customs of Ramadan and gain insight into broader Islamic teachings and traditions.

The event started at 18:45 with an introduction to the evening’s programme and housekeeping by Muhammad Daniyal Qureshi Sahib, Qaid Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya Dudley.

The evening’s programme featured a beautiful recitation of the Holy Qur’an with the English translation by Abdqoyum Ayobami Anisere Sahib.

The attendees were welcomed by Qalb Wasim Shah Sahib, Sadr Jama’at. This was followed by a thought-provoking segment on “The Essence of Fasting” by Imran Ahmad Khalid Sahib, Murabbi Silsila.

A video clip featuring Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V’s^aba address at the National Peace Symposium UK was played and the Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK’s message was presented by Anas bin Tariq Majeed Sahib to the audience on the “Voices for Peace” campaign that was launched worldwide under the divine guidance of Huzoor^aba to bring an end to the war in Gaza and to establish peace worldwide.

The programme continued with a range of guest speakers, including His Majesty’s Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands, Dr Satya Sharma MBE DL; The Worshipful, Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Andrea Goddard; and Police Sargent Nicola Chester.

SCC Lieutenant Royal Navy Reserve, David Burley delivered the vote of thanks on behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Dudley.

The formal proceedings were brought to a close with a Silent Prayer led by Imran Ahmad Khalid Sahib.

As we approached the time for Iftar, Adhan was recited by Abdqoyum Ayobami Anisere Sahib and the participants broke their fasts with dates, pakore and mojito.

A number of guests also made their way upstairs to the prayer hall as the members of the community joined for Maghrib Salat and then the dinner was served.

Following dinner, some gift baskets were handed to the guests and some feedback interviews were conducted by the team.

An exhibition was set up showcasing various translations of the Holy Qur’an done by the Jama’at and some other Tabligh literature. Mosque tours were also being conducted by the team throughout the evening. 

The Mayor of Dudley says “For everyone to come together and to celebrate other people’s traditions and their beliefs – Ramadan I know is extremely important in the Islamic faith and to share that kind of important event with other people is a huge step, I think, and a step in the right direction to making sure that all communities work together and are united.”

Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands says “I have been to mosques several times and Ahmadis are very special people with whom the lieutenancy has been connected to for a number of years. They are very special because they talk about love, peace, and hate for none, that is a really good motto and we hope that Ahmadis keep on doing the same job and they keep on bringing the communities together – that is also what the lieutenancy does.”

Barry Wheeler says “I am a member of the Rotary Club of Halesowen and Rowley Regis and we are very proud to be associated with this mosque. The hospitality this evening has been excellent – as it always is! I have lost count of the number of times that I have been here and I have always enjoyed the warm hospitality. The proceedings this evening concerning peace – very opportune at this particular time when there is so much strife around the world and hopefully peace in the end will prevail. I hope that the people here today, all of us of all faiths will strive together to achieve that peace. The Rotary Club will always be pleased to be associated with this organisation.”

Police Sargent Nicola Chester says “I would just like to thank everybody, what an amazing evening it is. It is great to see all the community together, it is great to be invited for the celebration of the breaking of the fast and I look forward again to coming to the Peace Conference that will be organised here soon.”

Elaine says “We are thankful to Khalid who invited us to this wonderful event. I did not know much about Ramadan, I did not know about the fasting, but I do know now and it is very interesting and very informative. And the food was very nice and it was a great night.”

Tauqeer says “I am an environmental activist for 6 years, I do interfaith work with an organisation called Footsteps. I came with my friend today and I want to thank the Ahmadiyya community for the amazing hospitality. After listening to the talks today – it’s about bringing people together, it’s about humanity. We are all human beings no matter what part of the world we are from, we have people here from different faiths and no faith, there are children. It has been such a wonderful experience. We are on the last 10 days of Ramadan now, and Ramadan is always about humanity.”

The event was attended by 75 guests and 170 local Jama’at members, Alhamdulillah.