Hong Kong Muslims Gather for First Ramadan Iftar since 2019

Gathering for the first time since 2019, hundreds of Hong Kong Muslims gathered for a special Ramadan iftar at the main hall of Kowloon Mosque on Thursday.

The gathering followed three years of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m happy to see everyone back, that everything is back to what it was,” KK Khan, a Hong Kong-born Pakistani told Hong Kong Free Press.

“I’m happy to see everyone back, that everything is back to what it was,” KK Khan, a Hong Kong-born Pakistani told Hong Kong Free Press.

Khan is one of the volunteers who gathered at the mosque since 2 am to prepare the iftar meal.

“Some were cutting onions and tomatoes [for the haleem]. Others were packing and distributing,” he said.

Their effort paid well as around 1,700 worshippers observed the first evening of Ramadan at Kowloon Mosque, said Mohammed Ali Diallo, a member of the mosque’s management.

Following iftar, worshippers headed upstairs to a hall for their regular prayers.

“Ramadan is a month of togetherness and gathering,” Yusuf Mansouri, a project manager at a bank, said. “I really missed this.”

Ramadan is the holiest month in Islamic calendar when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.

Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.

According to the 2016 census, Islam is practiced by 4.1% of the population of Hong Kong, or about 300,000 Muslims. Of this number, 50,000 are Chinese, 150,000 are Indonesians and 30,000 are Pakistanis, with the rest from other parts of the world.

The vast majority of Muslims in Hong Kong are Sunni.

SOURCE: https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/world/hong-kong-muslims-gather-for-first-ramadan-iftar-since-2019/