Islamic Congregation of LCF to celebrate interfaith fellowship at annual Ramadan potluck
On Friday evening, members of the Islamic Congregation of La Cañada Flintridge will break their daily Ramadan fast together with friends and neighbors, as the group hosts its 12th annual Interfaith Potluck Iftar at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge.
The tradition began in 2007, shortly after the congregation was formed by local families interested in volunteer service and uniting in Muslim fellowship, according to organizer and La Cañada resident Levent Akbarut. Since then, participation has grown to include a wider network of families and community leaders whose beliefs resonate with the congregation’s credo “working together for peace and understanding.”
“It started out with maybe 60 to 70 people in the beginning, and now our participation is around 150,” Akbarut said of the Ramadan feast. “We have school board members showing up, city council members and friends who are interested in Islam — it’s a very social season of the year as Muslims are fasting all day long and then breaking their fast at sunset with family and friends.”
The recitation of the Maghrib evening prayer begins at 7:51 p.m. shortly after sunset and will be followed by a potluck dinner at 8:15 p.m. The program’s featured speaker is Aziza Hasan, executive director of the Los Angeles nonprofit NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change, who will be speaking on Ramadan and what it means to Muslim and interfaith communities.
Guests are encouraged to bring a main meat or vegetarian dish, while drinks, salads and side dishes will be provided by the congregation. In keeping with Muslims’ prescribed halal diet, pork products are prohibited.
“The nice treat is that the potluck dinner will have foods from South Asia, Pakistan, India, Iran, all the Arab centers — someone brought In-N-Out one time,” Akbarut said. “It’s multicultural and diverse to the second degree.”
FYI: The Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge is located at 4469 Chevy Chase Drive. For more information on the Islamic Congregation of La Cañada Flintridge or Friday’s potluck dinner, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., visit iclcf.org or email info@iclcf.org.
Twitter: @SaraCardine
