Maryland U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen broke fast at a Thursday Iftar in Baltimore County where joy mixed with grief over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Ramadan is a holy month in Islam, celebrated with fasting from sunup until sundown when the fast is broken by feasting and prayer. Every year, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at Bait-us-Samad Mosque in Rosedale hosts an interfaith Iftar with an honored guest.
This year that celebration was mixed with joy and grief as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
“I cannot look at my dinner plate and be happy,” said Aziza Khan, who was only able to eat a few cucumbers and spoonfuls of rice after a day of fasting. Khan, who serves as president of the mosque’s women’s auxiliary, says she takes her fasts “very seriously” and that for her, they are “difficult.”
“I know there are people in Gaza who are fasting. They don’t even have food,” she said, breathing in deeply to stop from crying.
In late February, the United Nations reported that over half a million people, more than a quarter of Gaza’s population, is a step away from famine. All 2.3 million people face severe food insecurity.
Read more (and listen) at WYPR.
We are all praying that an end will be put to the Israel-Hamas war