More weather by AccuWeather®

BOROUGH PRESIDENT JOINS BROOKLYN MUSLIM COMMUNITY TO CELEBRATE RAMADAN HOLIDAY

Photographs by Kathryn Kirk

In photo from left to right: Erhan Yildirim of the United American Muslim Association, Debbie Almontaser of Women in Islam, Abdur Rahman Farrakhan of Masjid Al-Jamiyah (rear, in black suit), and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Today, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined Brooklyn’s Muslim community in celebrating the beginning of the annual month-long Ramadan holiday, which began Friday, October 15 and continues through November 14. A flag of the Muslim Crescent banner was also raised at Borough Hall Plaza. The momentous event marked the first-ever official celebration of a Muslim holiday at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Borough President Markowitz joined Brooklyn Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Albania and the nations of the former Yugoslavia. He was joined by Erhan Yildirim of the United American Muslim Association, Debbie Almontaser of Women in Islam and Abdur Rahman Farrakhan of Masjid Al-Jamiyah and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Tenants Association.

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown to commemorate the holiday of forgiveness, generosity and purification.

Borough President Markowitz greeted the crowd by wishing “Ramadan Mubaarak!” to Brooklyn’s Muslim community and to the millions of Muslims around the world celebrating Ramadan. He also announced that for the first time ever, a breaking of the Ramadan fast, or “iftar,” would take place at Borough Hall on November 10.

“Brooklyn is proud to be one of the Muslim capitals of America, including the largest Pakistani-American population in the country,” said Markowitz. “I believe Brooklyn should serve as a model for the rest of the world of religious tolerance and coexistence — because we prove that we are all children of the same god.”