By Eleanor Wilson
The Casey Multi-Faith community was a true vision of cultural cohesion over the weekend, marking the final week of Ramadan with an Iftar dinner at Hampton Park Uniting Church.
Held by Casey Multi-faith Network, Ahmadiyya Muslim Association and Hampton Park Uniting Church, the event welcomed about 80 guests from multiple religious sectors for a dinner to break the day’s fast on Saturday 15 April.
Representatives from Victoria Police and other community groups were also in attendance on the night, where a number of speakers educated the crowd about different fasting practices within religion.
Casey Mutli-Faith Network president Kasuni Mendis said it was the first time the group has held an Iftar dinner in a Uniting Church.
“We had a lot of people who had never attended an Iftar before and were really excited to learn and participate in that,” she said.
“I think for us that exemplifies what Multi-Faith is about, being able to hold an Iftar in celebration of Ramadan in a uniting church is kind of the epitome of Multifaith understanding for us.”
Ms Mendis was one of four speakers at the event, speaking about the history of fasting in her religion of Buddhism.
The crowd also heard from Hampton Park Uniting Church Reverend Ric Holland, who touched on the tradition of lent, Imam Atif Ahmad Zahid who spoke on fasting during Ramadan, and Casey Multifaith committee member Sarita Kulkarni,, who educated attendees on fasting in Hinduism, with a focus on health benefits.
“Overall, what we learnt is that fasting as a part of religious beliefs is a way we can show our graittude an understanding of what we have and also pay tribute to the practises or events that might have happened in our own religions that led to those beliefs,” Ms Mendis said.
“It’s really great to share those commonalities among different faiths as a way of uniting us.”
