10th April 2023
| Mark Frost
Community Perspective
This event itself was the second edition of its kind at Sophia Gardens and was fully funded by Cricket Wales and Glamorgan County Cricket Club, to give back to the communities that they serve. The event welcomed numbers of over thirty-five women from the community from a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds, for the evening meal. A big thanks goes to Mojeid Ilyas for organising.
What is an Iftar?
Iftar is the evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan, and it takes place at the time of sunset when the call to prayer is made. This is their second meal of the day; the daily fast during Ramadan begins immediately after the pre-dawn meal of ‘Sehri’ and continues during the daylight hours, ending with sunset with the evening meal of ‘Iftar’.
An insight into what the event meant to the community.
Ayesha Rauf- Head of Women’s & Girl’s Cricket at Llandaff Cricket Club
It is an honour to share the importance of fasting and Ramadan with women from the community in Sophia Gardens. It’s a great way to encourage community cohesion and bring us together regardless of faith or belief and teaches us acceptance for different practices and a positive future through cricket and sport.
Mouna Bourass- Chance to Shine Street Participant
What a lovely Iftar night we had! Such nice setting, company, and tasty food. Thank you to everyone involved, for creating such opportunity to meet other women from different walk of life, very inspiring to see females’ representation in cricket and sport generally. I learnt a lot tonight and met some amazing women. A great evening capturing the community spirit of Ramadan, bringing women together, to connect, exchange and appreciate the blessing of sharing beautiful moments with other. Simple things that we often take for granted.
Vision at Cricket Wales & Glamorgan
Glamorgan Cricket & Cricket Wales have set out to make sure that everyone who visits Sophia Gardens or anuy othe cricket club, feels at home and receives a warm Welsh welcome. While we know we have more to do it was pleasing to note that full accreditation has recently been awarded for Glamorgan Cricket’s EDI work from the UK National Centre for Diversity. We have convened two important joint workshops in November 2021 and 2022 where we have been really clear in our commitment and intention to make cricket the most inclusive sport. This Iftar event coincides with other culturally important events that cricket is creating such as the Ramadan midnight tape ball league, as well as indoor practice in Cardiff and Neath and a Diwali celebration in the Autumn. We are seeing a shift towards greater diversity in our playing base both in terms of recreational and professional cricket and very much want a more diverse fan and visitor base as well especially in terms of big events like the Iftar today. I hope everyone enjoyed the Iftar and will come again to our big matches in the T20 and Hundred games this summer!
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Mark Frost-Community & Development Manager at Cricket Wales/Glamorgan
Ramadan
Ramadan is considered one of the holiest months of the year for Muslims. In Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an, and fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of drawing closer to God and cultivating self-control, gratitude, and compassion for those less fortunate. Ramadan is a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation with a heightened focus on devotion, during which Muslims spend extra time reading the Qur’an and performing special prayers. All Muslims who have reached puberty are obligated to fast. However, people for whom fasting would be a hardship are exempted from fasting. This includes anyone who is sick or traveling; women who are pregnant, nursing, or on their menses; or older people who are too weak or ill to fast. They should make up the fast later, except for those who cannot fast due to age or chronic illness. Instead, they can feed a poor person for every day of fasting which they miss.