A MILFORD Haven mosque welcomed the whole community through its doors to celebrate the month of Ramadhan.

The Pembrokeshire Masjid & Islamic Centre involved the whole of the local community in celebrating Ramadhan, by inviting people of all faiths and those of none to a free Grand Iftar Dinner.

Iftar is the meal at sunset in which Muslims break their fast, this was at 9.25pm on Sunday, May 26.

The organisers said they wanted to unite the local community and bring everyone together to share this meal at Pembrokeshire Masjid which is the former Tabernacle Church on 122 Charles Street, Milford Haven.

Fasting in Ramadhan is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam and lasts 29 to 30 days, from one visual sighting of the crescent moon to the next.

Tivyside Advertiser: Pembrokeshire Masjid and Islamic Centre.Pembrokeshire Masjid and Islamic Centre.

The Imam of the mosque explained: “It was an honour and a great pleasure for us to host our community, this is the first of many events hopefully to come as part of our aims of community cohesion and engagement.

"Ramadan is a time in which families and communities come together for iftaars and prayers in festive gatherings that demonstrate the rich and diverse traditions of Muslim societies and cultures.

"It is also a deeply spiritual time of reflection and renewal meant to increase thankfulness and consciousness of God’s mercy.

"Muslims honour each day of Ramadan as a day of patient endurance through fasting, and each night as a night of gratitude through prayers. It is a time to reinforce faith, compassion and forgiveness, and perseverance through adversity.”

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The Imam is keen to involve the community in future events.

"We are planning in the near future a Visit our Masjid/Mosque day, this will be an open day for people of all faith backgrounds and those of none to visit, tour, learn and discuss the role of the Mosque in a friendly setting," he said.

The Grand Iftar had a lot of positive feedback with many neighbours and locals including church ministers and the local councillor among the attendees.

The Imam added: “The event sent the message of hope; that we will not allow the media or anyone else to break our humanity and we will come to celebrate each other’s unique ways of expressing British identities.

“It was a great opportunity in promoting neighbourliness, strengthening of community relations and for building bridges with colleagues and neighbours around us who come from a variety of faiths and ethnicities.”