Everyone tries to bring the best dish from their own tables to share with community members
\n KABUL
\nAs he arrives to his mosque at sundown, Mohammad Qasim carries some bread and a portion of the tastiest dish prepared at his home on that day. He will share it with others during a village iftar meal \u2014 one of Afghanistan\u2019s most cherished Ramadan traditions.
\nIn rural areas, communal iftar gatherings are something every community member knows from childhood and carries on as they grow up. Even though children do not fast, young boys would bring small pieces of bread and gather around the mosque, waiting for the sound of azan to join adult men in breaking their fast.
\n\u201cEveryone brings food to the mosque a few minutes before azan. We sit around a tablecloth on the ground and break the fast together as soon as we hear the azan,\u201d Qasim told Arab News.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t imagine having iftar at home or away from the mosque, unless something major like traveling or illness stops me from doing so.\u201d
\nThe Ramadan tradition of spiritual and social bonding is for him an essential part of the holy fasting month, which he remembers being upheld by his forefathers in Qarghayi, eastern Laghman province.
\n\u201cEvery year, we wait for the holy month with so much excitement to participate in the iftar gatherings … it\u2019s for us like Eid at the end of every fasting day,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cNowhere else can you find the feeling of joy that exists in breaking the fast together with other people in the mosque.\u201d
\nWhile everyone tries to bring the best dish from their own tables, it is the sense of community and sharing that matters most, not the food itself. The iftar gatherings bring all men of the village together in a sense of belonging, regardless of their status or background.
\n\u201cNo one is expected to bring meat, rice or other expensive meals. It can just be a piece of bread, yogurt or bolani (stuffed flatbread). The idea is to make sure we are together, and everyone feels welcome and cared for,\u201d Qasim said.
\n\u201cThe iftar gathering is a lot more than just food. It\u2019s pure love and kindness toward each other and the community at large. The food coming from various households is just an added bonus.\u201d
\nUpheld all across the Afghan countryside, the tradition of mosque iftars is no longer that common in urban centers, where it has become increasingly popular to break the fast with family members at home.
\nHaji Wakil, an elder from Kabul, has been trying to keep the tradition alive also as a form of community self-help, especially amid Afghanistan\u2019s growing crises.
\nDroughts, suspended aid and the freezing of the country\u2019s assets by Western powers following the Taliban takeover of the country in mid-2021 have left more than 15 million people, or almost half of the population, severely food insecure.
\nDuring Ramadan, Wakil joins other elders from his community for daily gatherings at their local mosque.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t see many people coming to the mosque for iftar now … (but) we need to keep this tradition as an important social event, especially to feed the poor,\u201d he told Arab News.
\n\u201cRamadan is not about having more food at iftar. It\u2019s about feeling for the poor and providing food for others.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Everyone tries to bring the best dish from their own tables to share with community members KABUL As he arrives to his mosque at sundown, Mohammad Qasim carries some bread and a portion of the tastiest dish prepared at his home on that day. He will share it with others during a village iftar meal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-394230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n