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Global Iftaars

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the very fundamental pillars of Islam, a tradition that binds us as one Ummah. The Muslim community is so ethnically diverse and geographically dispersed, yet we can be assured that during this holy month the majority of Muslims alive on this earth are following the example of our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and making the same sacrifice of fasting for the sake of Allah.

In the fall of 2008, in the spirit of community bonding, HUMA launched its first Global Iftaars program. Since then, a series of alumni iftaars have been held all around the world, including cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York, Ann Arbor, San Francisco, D.C., Houston, Philadelphia, Lahore, London, Istanbul, Cairo and Dubai. The program has been quite successful in bringing together Harvard’s Muslim graduates, who are scattered in far corners of the world. Some of these iftaars were in restaurants, while others had a more informal potluck format. In cities where the number of Harvard alumni is relatively low, we try to co-host the event with Muslim alumni networks of other universities such as Brown, Stanford, MIT, University of Michigan, Princeton, Yale, Oxbridge, and others. These dinners are continually a great opportunity to reconnect with fellow graduates, reminisce, network in a casual setting, as well as learn about HUMA’s latest initiatives.

We sincerely thank our volunteer hosts and participants for all their time and energy – we could not have done it without their support!