Ramadan event aimed to bring communities together

People from a range of faiths came together in Leicester to share in the breaking of the day's fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Hindu and Muslim communities were among those represented at the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre in Leicester on Saturday to share a meal together.

It was hosted by the Ramadan Iftar Project as part of an "eight-month trust building project" following disorder in the city in 2022, which saw clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities.

Organiser Mahomed Jussab said: "We want to bring communities together. We've tried to have over 50% of people be part of the community and not our friends."

Among the aims of the Ramadan Iftar Project is to share Ramadan with the wider community.

Last year, the Iftar, which is the breaking of the fast, took place on the streets of Leicester, while the location for this year's event was in a traditionally Hindu area of the city.

Jussab said the event was over-subscribed after work to build up trust between faiths in the community.

He added: "There is hesitancy and people are scared to do things. There's dark clouds since the riots which we're trying to address.

"There's other events planned this summer to get people together and open up communities."

Shital Adatia, a Leicester city councillor and president of the Shree Hindu Temple in Leicester, said: "It's good to mingle with different faiths and organisations.

"What happened in 2022 is a storm which has passed. We need to move forward and work together in the community."

Rita Patel, who grew up in Belgrave and helped set up a Hindu Muslim dialogue group for women following the disorder in 2022, added: "In Leicester we falsely assumed at times that because everyone had always got on together that we would always be like that.

"In actual fact it was a wake up call.

"Because different communities are moving in, we need to work hard at maintaining that balance of community understanding and dialogue."

The Very Reverend Karen Rooms, Dean of Leicester Cathedral, also attended the event.

She said: "There's nothing like eating together to build relationships.

"I've really been impressed by the young people in the room and making sure their voices are heard.

"When we look at what happened in 2022, it highlighted the divisions between the older generation and the younger.

"And what's been great here tonight is that everybody is here. "

A report into the disorder, released last month, found "significant failings" in policing and civic leadership allowed the disorder to escalate.

It said neither Hindu nor Muslim communities were solely responsible, but that community relations had been "fractured" by a number of issues, including inconsistent police action and a lack of clear council leadership.

Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he would "obviously look carefully" at what the report's authors had to say, while Leicestershire Police said it would consider the findings as part of its "ongoing commitment to learning and improvement".

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