More than 300 people of different faiths shared in two mass iftars in District Six.
Over 200 attended the iftar, the breaking of the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadaan, at Chapel Street Primary, which was organised by the District Six Neighbourhood Watch.
The watch’s Nazeem Rasdien said: “We are winning as a community, most of the community showed up. From here we can work towards making a safer and better community.”
Shaheen Galant principal of Islamia College said the event was evidence of “tolerance, understanding, co-operation and friendship” among different cultures.
District Six resident and celebrity Soli Philander, said the iftar recalled how close the community had been, irrespective of their religious differences, during the early years of District Six.
The menu included mutton curry, samoosas, boeber and cakes.
Further down the road, outside the Zeenatul Islam Mosque in Muir Street, more than 100 people attended the iftar where breyani, samoosas, doughnuts were shared among different religious groups.
District Six resident Anthea Bredenkamp and the District Six Civic Association (D6CA) organised this iftar.
“We created a WhatsApp group and people were eager to participate,” Ms Bredenkamp said, adding that it had pulled together people of different faiths.
All the leftover food would be donated to The Haven night shelter, she said.
Shanaaz Arnold, secretary of the D6CA, said: “The beauty of the iftar was when the athan, call to prayer, took place, we could feel the spirit of love for one another as he whole of the Western Cape was at that moment breaking fast simultaneously,” she said.
