A Ramadan interfaith iftar dinner event organized by Pacifica Institute and Church Divinity School of the Pacific to bring different faiths together was held at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley. There were about 100 guests who gathered to build bridges of understanding with other faith communities at the event.

The event started with the welcoming remarks by Rev. Mark Richardson and Fatih Ates and the quests were invited to hold a moment of silence and pray for the victims of Orlanda shooting. Afterwards, Informative videos about Pacifica Institute and Ramadan were presented.

Dr. Özgür Koca, the keynote speaker at the gathering, emphasized Ramadan being a time of unity of the communities and remembrance of others to build a better society which can only be achieved through knowledge, understanding and dialogue.

The iftar started with a call to prayer, adhan, recited by Fatih Ates. The guests shared the food and hospitality stories with each other in the iftar tables to foster greater solidarity between the all faith communities.

The event came to conclusion with the remarks from participants who were invited to the stage to share their feelings about the unique experience of interfaith initiative which gave a positive taster of life from a different background and foster closer relations.

It was hoped this event to be held up as an example of what can be achieved in terms of friendship and interfaith outreach especially on college campuses.

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