Highline’s Arabic Club will be hosting its annual Ramadan iftar event virtually April 17 for the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Ramadan 2021 began this week on April 13: The holy month is the ninth of the Islamic calendar, and its observance is one of the Five Pillars of Islam at the religion’s core. 

During Ramadan, observant Muslims fast during the day and are encouraged to engage in acts of charity, prayer, and recitation of the Quran, Islam’s central holy text. From dawn to sunset, both eating and drinking are postponed as an important act of worship. 

Meals are instead eaten each day before dawn, called suhoor, and after sunset, called iftar. The latter is the focus of the Arabic Club’s yearly Ramadan event. 

“The iftar is the meal served at the end of the day during Ramadan, to break the day’s fast,” said Oussama Alkhalili, a Highline professor and faculty member of the Arabic Club. “Literally, it means ‘breakfast.’ 

“Iftar is served at sunset during each day of Ramadan, as Muslims break the daily fast,” he said.  

Iftar meals are often an occasion for the gathering of family and community. This year, however, for the second Ramadan in a row, that opportunity will be inhibited by the pandemic.

“The club has held the iftar event for the last five years. This is the second year we are holding the event virtually,” Alkhalili said. 

“We are missing the intimacy of being with the people you care for during the pandemic while we do iftar together, enjoying food from different Arab and Muslim countries and praying together,” he said. “Inshallah, we will do it in person next Ramadan.” 

But despite not being able to gather in person, the Arabic Club is pressing forward with what ability it has to connect with the Highline community. 

The event will take place via Zoom on Saturday, April 17, beginning at 5 p.m., and can be joined at https://tinyurl.com/6cknu9b5. It will cover the club’s mission, the significance of Ramadan, and the role that iftar plays in its observance.  

Alkhalili said everyone is invited to join. 

“The event is open to anyone and everyone,” he said. “We enjoy sharing our traditions and the meaning of Ramadan with everyone.”