On 25th of August, Broken Bay Catholic Diocese and Affinity co-hosted an iftar in the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan which took place at the Broken Bay Diocese Centre, located in Pennant Hills. There were over 60 Muslim and Catholic leaders from the area attending the dinner.
Among the honoured guests were, The Hon. Philip Ruddock MP from the area and the Mayor of Hornsby Cr Nick Berman.
The program consisted of readings from the respective holy books, the Quran for Muslims and the Bible for Catholics, followed by a welcome from Bishop David Walker. This was followed by the Azan (Muslim call to pray) which signified the breaking of the fast.
Dinner was served with beautiful Afghan cuisine laid out in a presentable buffet style.
After dinner we heard short speeches from both the Hon Philip Ruddock and Mayor Nick Berman, who both emphasised the importance of bringing different faiths and cultures together.
Towards the end of the night the guests heard short speeches on the concept of breaking bread together, where Mr John McGrath talked about the Catholic perspective, while Ms Rahil Ansari spoke about the Muslim perspective.
Mr Mehmet Saral, President of Affinity Intercultural Foundation, gave a vote of thanks, thanking all for attending and trying to add to the social harmony in Australia.
As a token of appreciation he presented a gift to Bishop David Walker, The Hon. Philip Ruddock and Mayor Nick Berman.
