Iftar, the meal that ends the daily Ramadan fast, has traditionally been a humble affair, a chance for family and friends to gather at home and celebrate. In recent year, though, Iftar has increasingly gone upscale, with individuals, businesses and public officials hosting large-scale, lavish catered affairs for hundreds of guests. In Turkey, where this trend has been especially pronounced, some groups are now asking if this is really the way Ramadan was meant to be observed. From Hurriyet:
If only one picture were used to depict the month of Ramadan, that image would likely be of an iftar, the traditional fast-breaking dinner, a ceremonial activity featuring a variety of dishes.
This picture is, however, now being challenged by one Islamic group and its supporters, who recently protested the glamorous and expensive iftars held in luxury hotels.
After breaking their fast on the street in front of Istanbul’s Conrad Hotel last week, members of the Labor and Justice Platform organized another protest dinner Saturday in the city’s well-known Taksim Square, which is bordered by three five-star hotels.
“We are against the waste of money during these dinners. Instead of spending that money on the [iftar] tables, patrons should give it away to their workers,” the group said in a statement. Members held up posters bearing messages such as “Fasting breaks capitalism and capitalism breaks fasting” and “Iftar menu: 318 Turkish Liras; Minimum wage: 658 liras.” “This is not just a protest against the iftars during Ramadan, but we did [the protests during this time] because these luxurious feasts have become symbols of a capitalist understanding that has grown in the last 15 years,” one of the participants, theologian and writer İhsan Eliaçık, told the Hürriyet Daily News.