LOCATION British Embassy Khartoum

SPEAKER Rebecca Razavi, Deputy Head of Mission

EVENT Annual Iftar for Ramadan

DATE 15/09/2009

Assalamu Alaykom

Good evening, and welcome to you all. Thank you for joining us at our Iftar here at the British Embassy. I’m delighted to see so many valued friends and contacts with us this evening. On behalf of everyone in the Embassy, I would like to take the opportunity to say Ramadan Kareem, and to convey our best wishes for this holy month.

It seems fitting that we should gather here together this evening. Not only because of the depth of the relationship between our two peoples and our shared history, but also because of the two million British Muslims – including many Sudanese – who will be celebrating Ramadan in the UK through worship, fasting and charity. People across the world will be coming together in the spirit of community and shared values. And it is appropriate that we should do so here in Sudan.

Of course, Ramadan is of particular importance to Muslims. But there is also messages to people of other faiths too. The emphasis on compassion and social justice has relevance for us all, as does the call for charity and giving. These are shared human values that are not specific to any one religion. They are the values that bring us together.

Ramadan is an opportunity to remember those less fortunate than ourselves – both through the daily fast and the time for contemplation and reflection that this month brings. It is a time for us to remember the suffering across the world. A time to think of those in Sudan, still suffering from conflict. A time to remember our shared obligation to work towards peace and prosperity, and to think about what more we can do to help those in need.

Ramadan is also an important opportunity for us to think about how we can build upon the values that we share, and to celebrate that diversity of race, religion and culture that is so apparent in multi-cultural, multi-faith societies like the UK and Sudan.

Once again, thank you for coming and I wish you all a healthy and peaceful Ramadan  

( Tasomo wa taftorro ala Khayr).

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