Outwood Academy Acklam host iftar dinner event

On Tuesday 28 March, Outwood Academy Acklam hosted its first ever iftar dinner to celebrate and acknowledge students and their families fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, which constitute the basis of how Muslims live their lives. The other pillars are faith, prayer, charity and pilgrimage. Fasting is an important practice as it allows Muslims to devote themselves to their faith. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink between dawn and sunset, instead eating a meal just before dawn; the suhoor, and breaking their fast with a meal after sunset, known as the iftar. 

Shabana Rashid, Teacher of Business and IT, who coordinated the event said:

“Ramadan is a beautiful, blessed and spiritual month for many of our Muslim students who share this with their families and community. At Outwood Academy Acklam we wanted to share the experience with those families who had never experienced this before and to enlighten other students and their loved ones.”

The event which was open to all staff, students and their families, ran from 6:30pm – 9pm and had over 120 people in attendance. As part of the event, Year 11 students Bilal and Alam, alongside Mohammad in Year 10, presented an educational session on the importance of Ramadan for Muslims and the wisdom behind fasting during the month. Once the fast was opened, the Adhaan call to prayer was recited by Bilal, followed by prayers and a hot meal served to all by the academy catering staff.

Graham Skidmore, Principal, commented on the event, saying:

"It was such a wonderful experience to hear our students speak so passionately about their faith and share their experiences with our iftar guests.

"Our school is so lucky to have such diversity amongst our student body and events like this allow us to share and celebrate who we are and our backgrounds."