I.
Peace,
This Ramadan, Black Iftar will not be hosting any programming, digitally or in-person. It has been a great joy in my life to serve in this capacity.
II.
Starting a project in the holy month of Ramadan is a test of ego. The direction you choose requires frequent assessment of intention. You can’t play Allah.
I've never been interested in mimicking a capitalistic structure, and I don’t like being led by ego, guilt, or redundancy. I love being led by intention and creativity. I am inspired by alternative models to community and leadership, and an important exercise of that is to reflect on your work, and consider if what you think you’re doing, is what you’re actually doing.
III.
We are in a time where there is an expectation to over-produce, to find guidance in metrics, but nurturing a spiritual connection to the Divine does not follow that model.
We must think critically about what creating a digital community offers, where it lacks, how it can be consumptive and one-directional. It is important to reassess the strengths of the tools we have, and remember the source in how we use those tools.
I am grateful for the technological advances made in our lifetime, but it has been exhausting to primarily rely on these tools for communal, human needs. My recommendations to find human-connection during Ramadan in a semi-lockdown state? Mend a relationship, visit a cemetery, lean into the discomforts that leave your heart softer and seeking. Make more room for Allah.
IV.
Last year, as the world came to a halt, the thought of participating in a pandemic-Ramadan was terrifying. There were many unknowns about what would come ahead. Despite that, we overcame it, as it offered us the opportunity to spend our nights looking inward, to participate in self-study, and to find strength in what we thought was impossible.
Black Iftar’s digital programming in 2020, and in-person, multi-city iftars in 2018 & 2019, are experiences I am immensely grateful for. In 2020, we offered online discussions, artwork, intentional content, and my personal favorite, our Say it Slow series, to help our community trek uncharted territory, despite my own resistances towards social media.
I frequently have shared that Black Iftar was never intended to be a long term effort, because our communities should simply do better. And its success is through the Grace of Allah, and *you*. Our hosts across the nation, people who attended iftars, people who shared our story and engaged with us online, helped Black Iftar grow in such a beautiful way. Not only did I want something better for me and my friends, but we all wanted better, more full communities. That is a testament to what we all can contribute.
We currently stand one foot in lockdown, one foot in the future.
V.
Mia Birdsong once wrote, “The gift of Blackness is an expansive notion of family - family beyond blood and law, ‘play cousins’, and ‘fictive kin’.”
I’d like to think that Black Iftar offered a little bit of that family. Thank you for being a part of it.
May this Ramadan serve you in all the ways you want it to. May it bring you blessings beyond your comprehension.
Love,
Samira Abderahman