The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Iftar

  • Foundation celebrates Iftar with members

    it was an evening of love when Jandor Foundation hosted its volunteers and coordinators from the 57 local government and local council development areas to an Iftar (Breaking of fast).

    The event was held at the Ikeja Local Government Secretariat, Ikeja.

    Founder of the foundation, Alhaji Abdulazeez  Olajide Adediran said the gathering was in line with the teachings of the holy month to share with one another.

    “We are here to feast with our volunteers and coordinators from the 57 councils in the state.  This is one of the teachings of the Ramadan that from time to time, we bring people together and observed the Iftar with them. We sit; listen to the word of God from the Holy Quran. We admonish and teach ourselves what to do and not to do in the holy month,” he said.

    Adediran, who is also the founder of Core Television (TV), advised the youth to take advantage of their age to contribute to the nation building.

    He also refuted the rumour of his plans to vie for a political office.

    He noted that his philanthropy gesture is to lift the less privileged.

    He, however, promised to support any of his coordinators or volunteers who wish to vie for any political office.

  • Group provides Iftar for 15,000

    The Bodija Muslim Youth Forum (BOMYOF) has provided Iftar for over 15,000 people in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    BOMYOF Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun said over 500 Muslims and non-Muslims in Bodija and its environs of Ibadan benefited from the gesture.

    BOMYOF is the youth wing of Bodija Estates and Environs Muslim Community (BEEMC).

    Balogun said the forum decided to provide free meal to the people in Ibadan when it discovered that many people were unable to provide meal for their family during the fasting period.

    He said it was also to cushion the effects of economic hardship on some families who were finding it difficult to fast and feed their families.

    He said Islam implored those who were rich to assist the needy because of its benefits.

    On funding, Balogun said some kind- hearted Muslims, as well as corporate bodies, have been contributing to its success both in kind and cash.

  • Adebutu hosts Iftar

    The Chairman, House of Reps. Committee on Rural Development, Oladipupo Adebutu, hosted hundreds of Muslims to an Iftar at his Iperu, Ogun State residence.

    Ustaz Musbaudeen Kazeem, who delivered lecture on ‘The benefit of Ramadan,’ urged wealthy Nigerians to emulate Adebutu’s generousity.

    According to him, the lawmaker has been providing food for fasting Muslims.

    Adebutu, a governorship aspirant, thanked the gathering for honour his invitation.

    He promised to bring developmental projects to the town.

  • Ambode’s wife preaches love, tolerance at Ramadan

    Ambode’s wife preaches love, tolerance at Ramadan

    Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, has called for love and peaceful co-existence among the citizenry, during and after the Ramadan.

    She made the call during the evening prayer and fast-breaking (Iftar) by Muslim faithful, at Lagos House, Ikeja.

    Mrs. Ambode said that the Ramadan period represented love, forgiveness, peaceful co-existence and the need to extend a helping hand to the less privileged in the society.

    The Governor’s wife said that Nigeria needed love and peaceful co-existence to strengthen and surmount all challenges confronting her as a nation.

    According to her, “For any country to thrive, she needs love and peaceful co-existence to strengthen the social bond, and overcome any challenge confronting it as a nation. It is only when we allow love to grow in our hearts irrespective of religion, language and tribe barrier that we can collectively as a nation surmount any challenge confronting us”.

    Speaking further, she said that fasting during this period of Ramadan should not just consist of refraining from eating and drinking, but from every kind of selfish desire and wrong-doing.

    She said, “Fasting during this Ramadan period does not just consist of refraining from eating and drinking, but from every kind of selfish desire and wrong-doing. The fast is not merely of the body, but essentially that of the spirit as well”.

    The Governor’s wife urged the gathering to develop and strengthen the powers of self-control, attain nearness and closeness to God, so as to intensify the consciousness of God in our hearts, resulting in a higher spiritual experience and to continue to give to the less privileged, not at Ramadan alone but at all times.

    Mrs. Ambode thanked them for the prayer offered for the state, the first family, cabinet members and the nation at large, just as she urged them to continue to intercede with their prayers and prayed that they would all live to witness many more Ramadan on earth.

    Gifts were also distributed to the gathering in the spirit of the season

     

  • Saudi King hosts OPEC Secretary Barkindo to Iftar

    King Salman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia at the weekend hosted Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General-designate Dr Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo to Iftar at the Royal Palace in Makkah.

    He assured the in-coming Secretary General of Saudi Arabia’s continuous support for OPEC especially at this critical time for the global oil industry.

    King Salman noted that as a founding Member of OPEC, Saudi Arabia would continue to render support to the organisation and make necessary sacrifices for the unity and progress of the group.

    The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques congratulated Barkindo and Nigeria for emerging OPEC Secretary General after four years of impasse.

    The King commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his determination to change Nigeria for the better, and assured of Saudi Arabia’s support.

    Barkindo thanked the King for the honour done him, President Buhari and Nigeria with the invitation to iftar and conveyed the greetings and gratitude of President Buhari and the good people of Nigeria to the King for supporting Nigeria’s candidate even when they were also in the race.

    He appealed to the King to continue to provide leadership to OPEC, noting that the unity of purpose demonstrated at the June Conference of the Organisation was exemplary and needs to be sustained especially during these challenging times for the oil industry.

    Barkindo commended the King for his Vision 2030 project pointing out that its relevance goes beyond Saudi Arabia to all OPEC Member Countries.  It is a project that all OPEC Member Countries should emulate, he said.

    Barkindo, who was appointed OPEC Secretary General by the 169th Meeting of the OPEC Conference on June 2, is expected to assume duty at the OPEC Secretariat, Vienna, on August 1.

  • Muslim Professionals hold Iftar

    The Guild of Muslim Professionals (GMP) will tomorrow hold annual Iftar Get-together.

    The get-together will be held at the Olumo Hall of Lagos Airport Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos.

    The theme for this year’s edition is Positioning Muslim Professionals for the Challenges of National Rebirth.

    Lecture will be delivered by Ustadh Jubril Salahudeen of Citiserve Limited.

    Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs Dr Abdulhakeem Abdullateef and Mr Ayo Salami of KPMG are among the expected guests.

  • Bulgarian president hosts Iftar

    In a landmark move, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has  for the first time hosted an Iftar for the Muslim community.

    Hosted at the presidential residence in Boyana, the feast marked a change in attitude for the country’s 1.5 million native Muslims about 25 years after the Communist regime collapsed in 1989.

    President Plevneliev praised the Muslim community for their prayers and for opening their hearts alongside the Orthodox Church during Bulgaria’s recent flooding crisis.

    He has thanked Muslims for helping Orthodox monasteries clean up after the floods.

    Mutual feeling of appreciation was shared by the Bulgarian’s Grand Mufti Alis Haji, who praised the ruling regime  for offering religious freedoms to all Bulgarian people, regardless of their faiths.

    “Regardless of their religion and language, our ancestors lived on the same land and drank the same water. Like this, our neighbourly relations and unity has been preserved until today,” Haji said.

    He also appealed for more places of worship for Muslims in the capital, Sofia, saying the only mosque does not cater for the large congregation.

    According to official figures, Muslims, mostly ethnic Turkish descendants of the Ottoman Empire’s reach into Europe, make up more than 12 per cent of Bulgaria’s 7.8 million population.

    The Fatwa House puts the percentage at nearly 25.

    They coexist with Christian compatriots in a culture known as “komshuluk” or neighbourly relations.

     

  • Longest Iftar table enters Guinness Book of World Records

    Longest Iftar table enters Guinness Book of World Records

    The world’s longest Iftar (Breaking of fast) table measuring 1.003km in length, comprising 410 tables with 1,600 legs and 2.44 metres each in length, seating 2,000 people in facing rows on Al-Buhaira Corniche walkway in Sharjah, in United Arab Emirates (UAE) drew thousands of people and officials from the Guinness Book of World Records.

    Talal Umar, UAE Head and Sameer Khallouf, project manager for MENA Guinness Book of World Records, the official adjudicators announced the new record which eclipses the previous one by doubling the distance.

    The Sharjah Ramadan Festival this year covers a wide range of areas and 15 activities including social, religious and cultural heritage and sports events celebrating the values, principles and customs and traditions of the Emirati society.

    Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority Director-General Khalid Jasim Al-Midfa, said Sharjah counts on its reputation as a perfect family tourism destination.

    The special activities and programme held as part of the Festival cover the cities of Sharjah and Khorfakkan on the East Coast.

    Underscoring the significance of special events and exhibitions organised by the emirate during Ramadan, Al-Midfa appreciated the initiatives and efforts by government and private sector bodies in the emirate putting together high-end family fun and entertainment fair as well as cultural and religious heritage reflecting the spirituality of the holy month and reviving the memories and Ramadan traditions of ancestors in Sharjah and the UAE.

    Special promotions and events held as part of the Festival offer a diverse shopping experience with various shopping centres, malls and high-end hotels unveiling attractive discounts and promotions in addition to various activities in Ramadan tents across the emirate. The Ramadan and Eid Fair at Expo Centre, Sharjah and Ramadaniat Al-Qasba attract large numbers of visitors and shoppers and stimulate tourist flow into the emirate.