“Ramadan Mubarak,” screamed Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. “Happy Ramadan!” The crowd cheered. The city is home to over a million Muslims … writes Kaliph Anaz
The lights are back, not in December, but in March. Another month, another festival. For the first time in London’s history, the streets of the West End are lit up with decorative lights to mark the holy month of Ramadan.
“Ramadan Mubarak,” screamed Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. “Happy Ramadan!” The crowd cheered. The city is home to over a million Muslims.
London’s West End has been illuminated with 30,000 lights to welcome the holy month. Aisha Desai, the main organizer, was inspired by her fondness for Christmas lights, according to the BBC.
“I just had the ambition to do it like the Christmas lights,” she told the BBC. “I remembered going to visit the Christmas lights with my sister when I was growing up, and I also had an opportunity to live in the Middle East, and I wanted to bring that joy and magic to London, the city that I’m from.”
Ms. Desai began the project three years ago.
“It looks incredible, and I’m so overwhelmed with the response,” she said. “It’s such an important month for Muslims. I wanted to raise that awareness as well to let our neighbors know that this is a really important month for us. It’s my favorite month of the year, and I’m just grateful that we’re here today.”
“This is a special time for Muslims in London and around the world,” the mayor said. “A time when we celebrate with our loved ones and fulfill our religious duty of going without food and drink during the day. This Ramadan, my thoughts and prayers will be with the victims and all those affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the terrible floods in Pakistan, and all those suffering war and persecution in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Iran. From my family to yours: Ramadan Mubarak.”
The city is changing. The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington is organizing an open Iftar, and the museum has also erected a pop-up mosque and Ramadan pavilion for Muslims and non-Muslims. Chelsea football club will also hold an open Iftar at the side of the pitch at Stamford Bridge, in what will be a first for the club and a Premier League stadium. Wembley stadium will do the same later in the month.
