Rumi Forum organized the second annual suhoor program in Washington, D.C on July 11th. The Suhoor took place at the Rumi Forum’s headquarters and there was a big interest for this early breakfast held at 3 am.
On Saturday July 11th at 3am, the Rumi Forum hosted the 2nd Annual Suhoor breakfast in the company of scholars, government officials, interfaith groups and more. Suhoor (or Sahur), is a term referring to the meal consumed early in the morning (pre-dawn) by Muslims before fasting during the month of Ramadan. Being the last meal eaten by Muslims before fasting from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, Suhoor is regarded by Islamic traditions as a benefit of the blessings in that it allows the person fasting to avoid the weakness caused by the fast.
Guests were greeted by the President of the Rumi Forum, Emre Celik thanked everyone for sacrificing their sleep to join the Forum and its guests at a very special event during the Holy Month of Ramadan before introducing Former U.S Ambassador to Denmark, Laurie Fulton who regarded shared meals as not only part of certain religious cultures, but part of our culture as a human race. With the three main religions, she reflected that you have Jews in Egypt who were commanded to eat a communal meal, with Christianity your mind immediately goes to the Lord’s supper, and then in Islam we appreciate the shared meals of the holy month of Ramadan. There is a study out by NDU, the Ambassador mentions, that show a correlation between adults who ate shared meals with their families when they were children, to have traits late on in life including: generosity, kindness, and ability to interact with different people of various backgrounds. She concluded by saying “The real underlying purpose of shared meals gives us an opportunity to get acquainted, enjoy each other and to enjoy life.”