For a quarter of the world\u2019s population, the 1.6 billion practicing Muslims, Ramadan is one of the holiest times of the year. Its observance is marked by fasting during the day \u2013 from sunrise to sunset \u2013 that ends with a shared meal, or iftar, between family and friends.<\/p>\n
On July 7th, Pacifica Institute, the United States Attorney Office, FBI and the SDWAC collaboratively supported a Fast Breaking Dinner, and the cultural practices that go along with breaking the daily fast.\u2028 The Iftar meal celebrates the breaking of the fast each day at sunset, and allows participants to reflect on how fortunate they are for the abundance of food, and for the friends and family that surround them. In addition to the physical act of fasting, participants are also encouraged to be spiritually mindful, and to perform acts of community service and charity work.\u2028 \u2028The iftar meal shared at the Pacifica Institute began with an introduction from Professor Emeritus Patrick Drinan, followed by a metaphorical explanation of Ramadan and the significant place it occupies in Islam, by Dr. Ozgur Koca. In a program timed to sunset in San Diego, the fast was broken by the call to prayer. In keeping with Islamic tradition, many broke their fast with dried dates or water. After the meal, we had an opportunity to hear some traditional Turkish flute and classical guitar music. To conclude the evening, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy shared her vision of peace and justice, and then invited San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts to add a few remarks on strengthening ties between different groups in the community.<\/p>\n
Though not all those in attendance were practicing Muslims, the spiritual messages behind the meal \u2013 its emphasis on community, personal reflection, and gratitude \u2013 were clear. Everyone who attended the Iftar dinner expressed his or her appreciation to be included in a tradition that is so old, and so widely practiced throughout the world. All those who attended were fortunate and honored to be able to share in this evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For a quarter of the world\u2019s population, the 1.6 billion practicing Muslims, Ramadan is one of the holiest times of the year. Its observance is marked by fasting during the day \u2013 from sunrise to sunset \u2013 that ends with a shared meal, or iftar, between family and friends. On July 7th, Pacifica Institute, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacificainstitute.org\/orange-county\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}