The American Muslim Voice hosted its annual Iftar dinner on August 11 at the Palo Alto residence of its Founding Executive Director, Samina Sundas.
The dinner attracted a large number of people from various faiths. Interfaith leaders including representatives of Multi-faith Voices for Peace and Justice and Silicon Valley Inter-religious Council, attended the iftar. Officials from the Asian Law Caucus and Korematsu Center, as well as Kansen Chu member of the San Jose City Council, were also present.
The AMV received RSVP from 32 people for the iftar dinner but more than 70 guests graced the occasion.
SF Bay Area’s prominent civil rights activist, Reshma Inamdar, and Syed Abdi from the SABA Islamic Center, San Jose, briefed the audience on the significance of the holy month of Ramadan. They told the audience that fasting doesn’t mean only to refrain from food and water but has a more deep meaning. Fasting requires that one should abstain from falsehood in speech and action, indecent speech and arguments, and lustful thoughts.
The objective of holding the annual AMV Interfaith Iftar is to dispel misunderstandings caused by the negative propaganda about Islam and Muslims. The AMV Executive Director, Samina Sundas, believes that the best way to remove misunderstandings is to practice Islam in public.
Guests from different faiths heard the call (Azan) for maghreb (sunset prayer) by Junaid Sheikh from the Islamic Circle of North America and Northern California Islamic Council. Syed Zafar Mohsin, AMV President for Northern California, watched by the guests, led the maghreb prayer.
Speaking on the significance of the Interfaith Iftar, Syed Mohsin said that the American Muslim Voice Foundation was founded in July 2003 by American Muslims to work for and in association with all Americans. “We work with Muslim, multi-faith and community organizations, groups and individuals who share our vision of a peaceful, harmonious and inclusive world.” He said the AMV has been successful in its mission as was evident from the presence of the multi-faith and multi-ethnic groups in the iftar dinner.
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