A London community project that began as a means to feed lonely students during Ramadan has now become a global annual event, attracting thousands of guests and famous speakers.
The Ramadan Tent Project (RTP), which started as a way to create a “home away from home” for young people at SOAS University during the 2011 London riots, has now fed thousands for free across the globe, founder Omar Salha said.
“I remember starting in the summer of 2011, when there was that huge outbreak of violence across the streets and the lack of spaces for young people to engage in. So we wanted to ensure we had a safe space to break bread.”
The project returns in 2022 after two years of “Global Virtual Iftars” (the sunset meal to open one’s fast) with events at the Royal Albert Hall, the V&A museum, Hay’s Galleria and Southwark viewpoint.
In previous years, iftars have been hosted at Trafalgar Square, Wembley Stadium and Westminster Abbey, with more than 100,000 guests in 10 cities and four continents attending - including Turkey and Zambia.
The project has connected more than 350,000 people across the UK alone and distributed more than 150,000 hot meals.
Mr Salha said: “Our main aim in all of this is to bring communities together, to better understand each other.
“I come from a Turkish background so during the Ottoman Empire, for instance, during Ramadan you had people opening up their palaces, inviting people into bazaars. So I thought, how do we replicate that with its own uniqueness in London?”
Inspiring speakers have included Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, Mayor Sadiq Khan and Darjeeling Express founder Asma Khan – with some expected to return this year.
Mr Salha added: “Riz Ahmed, was someone who we happened to connect with, and as it was said, when he won his Oscar, ‘There is no us and them. There’s just us,’ which, I think, resonates a lot with what we are about as an organisation.”
This Ramadan, some speakers expected to host are Canon Anthony Ball, Green Party member Neil Jameson, British-Lebanese designer Nour Hage, Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad (Timothy Winters) and Sadiq Khan in the last few days of the holy month.
