A group of Saudi men decided to rise above sectarianism, bringing together members of Sunni [1] and Shia [2] communities for an Iftar, the evening meal that ends the day-long fast in the Islamic month of Ramadan.
The gathering, held under the theme ‘No to Sectarianism’, was held in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Photographs showing Saudis from both sects standing side by side were posted on social networking sites celebrating the event.
Hassan Al Ameer shares [3] this photograph on Twitter:
[3]On Twitter Hassan Al Ameer shares this photograph of Sunni and Shia Saudis breaking their fast together in Riyadh
Muslims are marking a month of fasting, Ramadan [4], which ends in 10 days. During Ramadan, Muslims fast and abstain from eating and drinking, sunrise to sunset. Iftar is the meal they eat to break their fast, at sunset.
The success of the Riyadh Iftar is encouraging Saudis to organise similar events across the Kingdom. AngrySaudi tweets:
The tweet has been retweeted 200 times.
More photographs of the Iftar are available here [6], on the event's Facebook page.
The album is described:
اتفق مجموعة من الشباب السعوديين السنة والشيعة على إقامة إفطار جماعي تحت عنوان “لا للطائفية” وذلك لنبعث رسالة للجميع بأننا كلنا إخوة نجتمع في إنسانيتنا وفي إسلامنا ومواطنتنا، ولنرفض الفرقة وندعم الوحدة.
A group of Saudi young men, from the Sunni and Shia sects, agreed to organised a group Iftar under the theme No to Sectarianism. The goal was to send a message to everyone saying we are all brothers in our humanity, Islam and nation, and that we refuse division and support unity.