Skip to main content

London’s Victoria & Albert Museum Hosts Open Iftar

For the second time this Ramadan, hundreds of British Muslims and non-Muslims gathered together for an OpenIftar at the V&A in the Raphael Cartoons room.

The paintings are called cartoons as they come from the Italian word ‘cartone’ which means ‘big paper,’ apt as the gallery is covered in some stunning artwork enjoyed by the 500+ in attendance.

📚 Read Also: Southwark Cathedral Hosts Ramadan Grand Iftar

The evening’s highlight was the adhan (call to prayer) in the entrance atrium underneath the Rotunda Chandelier.

Designed by Dale Chihuly, it’s named ‘Ice Blue and Spring Green,’ and it was a perfect color combination that created a pulse, like a heartbeat, as the call to prayer resounded through the hall and the prayers commenced below.

Sarah Joseph dived in with context for the beautiful St George’s Altarpiece which sat at one end of the room. She pointed out that St George, the patron saint of England, was actually half Palestinian and half Turkish.

Living in the 3rd century AD, he lived generations before Prophet Muhammad, yet he embodied the universal values and principles we associate with Islam.

📚 Read Also: London’s Guildhall Old Library Hosts Ramadan Iftar

Celebrating History

Shahed Salem, the designer of the Ramadan Pavilion, an abstract mosque in one of the courtyards of the V&A said that he took inspiration from the travels of Europeans throughout the Muslim world. He then interpreted their interpretations to create a unique structure.

Speaking on stage, Shaheen Kasmani, lead curator of the Ramadan pavilion at the V&A for this year, shared that it is people who give things meaning. Whatever any person has built, the more they see something, the more it can be enjoyed.

To either side of the stage were block prints from a workshop organized by the Khidr Collective, run by Alan Alsaraji and Night Alam. Taking inspiration from Islamic Art, the patterns are printed and on the night show on stage.

In all, guests loved the environment and the experience and were equally joyed with a biryani meal from Fait Maison to top off the program.

Similar events took place this year at Shakespeare’s Globe theater, Southwark Cathedral, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium and the Royal Albert Hall.

Organizers at Ramadan Tent Project say they wanted to bring communities together during the holy month.

The post London’s Victoria & Albert Museum Hosts Open Iftar appeared first on About Islam.



source https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/europe/londons-victoria-albert-museum-hosts-open-iftar/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Times and Places Where Dua is Accepted

A short reminder regarding the recommended times of dua . And I think what you need to know here is that the recommended times of dua or recommended things that can cause your dua to be accepted, can be divided into two sort of large groups: Am I Good Enough to Make Dua for Myself? Situations where your dua is accepted. Times where your dua is accepted So I’m going to very briefly mention them one after the other as much as possible. As for situations where your dua has been accepted: – The person who has been wronged or oppressed . – A person who finds themselves in severe difficulty after a calamity has struck. – The person who is traveling. – Someone who is fasting. – The one who is reciting the Quran or has just recited the Quran – Someone who is performing Hajj or Umrah or jihad. – The one who is making dua for someone in their absence . Because we know that when you make dua for someone in his absence an angel says: “ Ameen and to you”. – A person...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Derechos de Las Mujeres en Islam

Durante el Tiempo del Profeta (la paz sea con él) Veamos cómo fueron tratadas las mujeres de todo el mundo durante la época del Profeta (la paz sea con él). En la Europa del siglo VIII, la religión principal era el catolicismo y durante este tiempo debatían si las mujeres tenían alma. Dijeron que las mujeres eran impuras y que no tenían derecho a la herencia. A las mujeres tampoco se les permitía tocar la Biblia. No era como ahora en el Islam, donde ellas no pueden tocar el Corán durante la menstruación, pero a las mujeres en la Europa del siglo VIII nunca se les permitió tocar la Biblia. En China e India, fueron quemadas vivas cuando murieron sus maridos. En Arabia Saudita practicaron infanticidio femenino en el que, si nacía una niña, la enterrarían viva. Si el marido de una mujer muere, un miembro de su familia se unirá a ella para demostrar que ahora es de su propiedad. Mujeres en el Islam Con el Islam llegó una nueva era para las mujeres. En el Islam, las mujeres tienen la...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Ghuraba (The Strangers): Nasheed with English Subtitles

Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings the strangers. (Sahih Muslim 145) This famous nasheed has many versions; this one is from Muhammad al-Salman and has the subtitles in English embedded. [We are] strangers and we do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah  […] Transliteration to help in the pronounciation:  Ghurabaa’ wa li ghairillaahi laa nahnil jibaa Aisha Stacey  wrote in an article for Aboutislam.net : “I think that many of you would agree that being Muslim in the 21st century makes you well acquainted with being strange. It might even be a metaphor for random, as in you have been randomly selected. […] many converts to Islam will tell you about feeling as if they were strangers, before finding Islam. They will speak of feeling that they belonged somewhere else that their lives were just slightly off center. They often speak about a vague sense of knowing they were not like everyone else...
Post a Comment
Read More »