At the Pavilion in Victoria Park this evening, with some Muslim friends for a flashmob meal. This is a follow-up to the Flashmob Iftar, three of which were held recently on this same spot during Ramadan. Iftar is the collective meal breaking the fast each evening during that holy month for Muslims. Despite my good intentions, I never made it to any of those, so I'm glad to have got to this one.
There are about two dozen people here, a mix of young Muslims and some other people who don't normally have the chance for a decent feed. Not all of the food that's been brought to the event is eaten here. Some is transported to local hostels for the homeless.
This series of events, coordinated and publicised mostly through Facebook, is the kind of thing I'd like to feature in the panel I'll be presenting for Amplified Leicester in March next year on "Amplified Communities of Faith and/or Belief".
I meet (for the first time) Yasmin Surti, whom my friend Sughra Ahmed (also here) has recommended as the Muslim participant in the Council of Faiths dialogue sessions during Local Democracy Week (AKA Leicester Speaks). We get a few minutes to go over what's expected to happen at that meeting, at which Yasmin will be in dialogue with someone representing the Jain community. Their topic will be "What our community brings to Leicester". I'm confident she'll make a very good contribution.
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