'Everyone is welcome' - Hundreds gather in Bristol for Bangladesh Association's Iftar

Around 800 people gathered to break the fast together on Tuesday night for Iftar celebrations in Bristol.

The Bangladesh Association (Bristol, Bath and West) held the event at the Shah Jalal Jame Mosque in Easton on 4 April.

Each year for Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours and then eat their first meal at dusk.

A team of 20 cooked food for around 1,000 people at three restaurants as everyone was invited to break the fast midway through the holy month.

The food including Tandoori chicken, Biriyani and chickpeas was delivered to the Mosque in big metal pots. Portions were then served into trays, ready for people to arrive.

Ramadan is a time of giving, which is something the Association’s President Mohammad Ainul Islam is well aware of.

He travelled to Turkey recently with an aid group, distributing food parcels to families and toys to children who have had their lives changed after the devastating earthquakes. 

He said: "What I have seen is beyond what any kind of language can describe.

"Thousands of people living in flats, none of it there, it’s only the rubble and concrete on the floor.

"I don’t know how they’ll rebuilt that city - It’s heartbreaking what I have seen and witnessed.

"Everyone has supported and everyone donated for the cause and I am grateful once again for the kindness for the kindness, it’s very kind."

Men and women pray separately in different parts of the Mosque, and there was a large turnout for both.

Shumin Islam said: "These kind of events haven’t happened on such a large scale for probably the last 40 years.

"I’ve been here for 40 years and I haven’t seen so many women turn up to a gathering.

"It brings you spiritually together as a community, so it’s lovely to see that."