Carrying forward the success of its first community iftaar in early June, the Canterbury Muslim Community Trust (CMCT), organised two more iftaars on June 10 and 17 in Christchurch, which were again very well attended. Organisers noted that over 300 people attended each event, with the Indonesian community sharing how Ramadan is celebrated in their home country, on June 10. CMCT trustee Mr Ibrahim Abdelhalim and his children's Quran group also provided some entertainment to the gathering on the day. Meanwhile, CMCT has also launched an appeal in the community to help support the Christchurch Muslim Community Food Bank this Ramadan, which is intended as sadaqa (charity).
Separately, the Pakistani Association of Canterbury NZ (PACNZ) with membership of over 200 Pakistanis living in the country also organised a community iftaar on June 10. Mr Kaleem Khan, President of PACNZ, who has been in New Zealand for over 14 years informed, “We had a gathering of over 200 people; not only from Pakistan but some of our friends from India and Bangladesh also attended. We had traditional food and there were some fun games for children as well. We also had a cupcake icing competition for children and distributed prizes to the winners. Now, the community is looking forward to the Eid celebrations scheduled for the week starting June 26, depending on the moon-sighting.”