LONDON: London’s busiest mosque will provide thousands of iftar meals to those in need and NHS workers at a local hospital this Ramadan.
Every year, the East London Mosque & London Muslim Center hosts hundreds of people at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan for iftar.
However, this will be impossible during Ramadan 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions, and instead the mosque will distribute iftar meals to front-line workers at the nearby Royal London Hospital and local people in need.
“One of the big things we do at the mosque every year is feed several hundred people who come and have iftar. However, government guidelines currently permit religious institutions to open for prayer only and therefore we can’t host the iftar,” Khizar Mohammad, the mosque’s media and communications manager, said.
The iftar initiative is funded through donations and each meal costs £3 ($4.12).
“We have an appeal every year and anyone who wants to feed the hungry will donate,” Mohammad said.
“Feeding people in Islam is a highly encouraged good deed whether it is your guest or the poor and needy. Many people donate to the iftar campaign and it is funded by them.”
Due to the large number of donations in 2020 and the mosque’s closure amid the national lockdown, the campaign funded iftar meals in Bangladesh as well.
“We had a lot of donations last year which enabled us to feed more people — not just locally but also internationally,” Mohammad added.
The meals vary, but there is always a meat and vegetarian option, and fruit, dates and a bottle of water or juice are included.
“We like to mix the menu up because we have regular recipients who are from not so fortunate backgrounds and we don’t want to give them the same meal for 30 days in a row. Biryani is always on the menu at some point due to its popularity,” Mohammad said.
The mosque has been providing meals to front-line workers on a weekly basis during the pandemic.
“The Royal London Hospital is close by and we have been providing staff with meals throughout the lockdown as a gesture of thanks. During Ramadan, these meals will become daily rather than weekly,” Mohammad said.
“We usually load the meals up into our van, drive two minutes down the road, and give them to a member of staff at the hospital who will then take them to the right department.”
The mosque also provides about 200 people in the London borough of Tower Hamlets with groceries, cooked meals and hygiene packs when needed.
Those who find themselves in financial hardship during the pandemic can ask for an iftar meal from the mosque as part of the campaign.
“As for providing meals to the vulnerable and those in need in the local area, they will usually phone in and request them. We have a list of around 200 people whom we provide with groceries, cooked meals or hygiene packs. People regardless of their faith can request to be added to the list or to have Ramadan iftars sent to them. Alternatively, they can collect the items themselves if that is more convenient,” Mohammad said.
“If we raise enough money, we will also fund iftar in other countries that are less fortunate such as Yemen,” he added.
London mosque provides iftar meals to key workers, needy during Ramadan
https://arab.news/jvf8z
London mosque provides iftar meals to key workers, needy during Ramadan
- Hosting iftar in the mosque will be impossible during Ramadan 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions
- The iftar initiative is funded through donations and each meal costs £3 ($4.12)
Trump says Greenland will ‘work out’ after Denmark fails to bridge gap
- Trump has appeared emboldened on Greenland — which he views as in the US backyard — since ordering a deadly January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed president Nicolas Maduro
WASHINGTON, United States: US President Donald Trump held open the possibility Wednesday for a resolution on his designs over Greenland after Denmark’s top diplomat said he failed to change the administration’s mind on wanting to conquer the island.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous territory under Copenhagen’s sovereignty, met at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a meeting the visitors had requested to clear up “misunderstandings” after Trump’s bellicose language toward the fellow NATO member.
Trump, speaking after the meeting which he did not attend, for the first time sounded conciliatory on Greenland, acknowledging Denmark’s interests even if he again said he was not ruling out any options.
“I have a very good relationship with Denmark, and we’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out,” Trump said without explaining further.
He again said Denmark was powerless if Russia or China wanted to occupy Greenland, but added: “There’s everything we can do.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, speaking after leaving the White House, said a US takeover of Greenland was “absolutely not necessary.”
“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Lokke told reporters.
“We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree.”
He said the issue was “very emotional” for the people of Greenland and Denmark, a steadfast US ally whose troops died alongside Americans in Afghanistan and, controversially, Iraq.
“Ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable,” Lokke said.
He nonetheless said the tone was “constructive” and said the sides would form a committee that would meet within weeks to see if there was possible headway.
Referring to the British prime minister who trumpeted his diplomacy with Hitler, Lokke said, “I am not a Chamberlain to say “Peace for our time,” but we must seize the opportunities that present themselves.”
Mocking tone
While the talks were underway, the White House posted on X: “Which way, Greenland man?“
The post included a drawing of two dogsleds — one heading toward the White House and a huge US flag, and the other toward Chinese and Russian flags over a lightning-bathed Kremlin and Great Wall of China.
Neither country has claimed Greenland, and Lokke said no Chinese ship had been spotted there in a decade and that there were no major Chinese investments.
Denmark promised ahead of the meeting to ramp up its military presence further in the vast, sparsely populated and strategically located island.
Trump has derided recent Danish efforts to increase security for Greenland as amounting to “two dogsleds.” Denmark says it has invested almost $14 billion in Arctic security.
Denmark also announced immediate military exercises that will include aircraft, vessels and soldiers, with Sweden also participating.
In another show of solidarity with Denmark following Trump’s threats, Germany and France both said Wednesday they will send troops to Greenland. German’s defense ministry said it would send a 13-person team.
Signs of relief
On the quiet streets of the capital Nuuk, red and white Greenlandic flags flew in shop windows, on apartment balconies, and on cars and buses, in a show of national unity during the talks.
Ivaana Egede Larsen, 43, said she felt relief that the meeting appeared to be cordial.
“I am more calm now, and I feel more safe. I had felt very much unsafe lately,” she said.
In Copenhagen, Thomas Fallesen, 56, voiced similar sentiments.
“They are now at least talking together instead of talking through the press. I think it’s a very positive thing,” he said.
Vance, who slammed Denmark as a “bad ally” during an uninvited visit to Greenland last year, is known for a hard edge, which was on display when he publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last February.
Wednesday’s meeting, however, was closed to the press, meaning there was no on-camera confrontation.
Trump has appeared emboldened on Greenland — which he views as in the US backyard — since ordering a deadly January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed president Nicolas Maduro.
