It begins with dates. A plate of Medjool dates passed along a long table — in a mosque hall, a community centre, a school gymnasium, a church meeting room. Then, when the call of the Maghrib adhan sounds and the fast is broken, the room fills with the sound of conversation, the clatter of cutlery, and the smell of food. Around the table sit people who might never otherwise have met: a Sikh teacher, a retired Methodist minister, a Jewish student, a Hindu family, a group of local councillors, and dozens of Muslim families who have fasted since before dawn.
This is the Big Iftar — and it has become one of the most genuinely impactful interfaith events in the British calendar.
What is the Big Iftar?
The Big Iftar is an initiative, begun informally in various communities and formalised by several national Muslim organisations, that invites non-Muslims to join Muslims in breaking the Ramadan fast. Events are held in mosques, schools, community centres, workplaces, and private homes. Some are small and intimate — a family opening their home to non-Muslim neighbours. Others are large civic events attracting hundreds of guests and civic dignitaries.
The concept is simple: hospitality is a core Islamic value, and Ramadan — with its emphasis on generosity, community and spiritual reflection — is the perfect moment to extend that hospitality beyond the Muslim community. Guests are welcomed, given an explanation of Ramadan and the practice of fasting, invited to ask questions, and then fed a meal that often showcases the extraordinary diversity of Muslim cuisine: Bangladeshi biryani, Somali rice and goat, Palestinian fattoush, Lebanese mezze, Pakistani haleem, West African jollof.
Why it works
The genius of the Big Iftar is its simplicity. Food is the most universal of human experiences. Sharing a meal together — particularly at a moment of communal significance like the breaking of a fast — creates an intimacy and warmth that lectures, leaflets and formal interfaith dialogues rarely achieve. Guests are not being talked at; they are being hosted. They are not observers; they are participants, sharing in a moment that is precious to their hosts.
Many guests arrive with misconceptions and leave with friendships. Many come out of curiosity and leave with understanding. And many Muslims who host guests report that the experience deepens their own appreciation of their faith — explaining Ramadan to someone who knows nothing about it is a powerful prompt for reflection.
Iftars across Britain
Big Iftar events now take place in every major city in Britain — London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Leicester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol and beyond. Some of the most memorable have taken place in unexpected settings: a shared iftar at Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral; a joint fast-breaking by Jews and Muslims in a north London community hall; an iftar hosted by a Church of England vicar in his church hall for local Muslim families who had nowhere larger to gather.
In Birmingham, the 'Big Iftar in the Park' has attracted thousands of participants from across the city's extraordinary diversity, with food stalls, live nasheeds, and speeches from community and civic leaders. In Glasgow, the city council has participated in mosque iftars for several years running. In London, the Mayor's office has hosted iftar events at City Hall.
Whoever provides the food for a fasting person to break his fast will have a reward like his, without reducing his reward in the slightest.
A model for the world
At a time when public discourse about Islam and Muslims in Britain is often dominated by anxiety and misunderstanding, the Big Iftar offers a different story. It is a story of generosity, openness and the profound human capacity for connection across difference. It is happening in hundreds of communities every Ramadan, largely unreported and without fanfare. And it is, in its quiet way, building the kind of Britain that most people — Muslim and non-Muslim — actually want to live in.