Bradford Bulls play host to Ramadan Iftar meal at rugby league stadium
- Published
Rugby fan Graham Swain (left) with Humayun Islam of the Muslim Friendly Employers project (right) and Bradford Bulls chairman Nigel Wood (middle)
Bradford Bulls rugby league club has hosted a community Iftar meal to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The call to prayer - the azaan - was also recited at Odsal Stadium on Tuesday to mark the end of the day's fast.
It is believed to be the first time the azaan has been delivered at a British rugby stadium over loudspeaker.
Imam Alyas Karmani said the event saw the combination of "two wonderful things - food and sport".
Mr Karmani joined Bradford Bulls' Christian chaplain Chris Mason to deliver keynote speeches at the Iftar, focusing on interfaith unity and the value of sport in bringing people together.
Ramadan is the Islamic spiritual month of fasting, reflection and charity and "Iftar" is the word for the breaking of the day's fast and the meal - often eaten in a community setting - which follows it.
Tuesday's event was attended by members of Bradford's rugby league community and representatives of Muslim-led and owned organisations and local businesses.
Current and former rugby players in attendance included trailblazing former Leeds, Featherstone, Huddersfield and England player Ikram Butt as well as Elland RLFC legend and coach Junaid Malik and Hunslet Warriors' Hassan Hussain.
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Mr Karmani said: "I've loved rugby since I was a kid. I used to always watch it on TV. It's a wonderful sport and Bradford Bulls is an amazing part of the city's heritage.
"Today's Iftar was about combining two wonderful things - food and sport - which bring people together to share our common values, our common experiences, to have dialogue, to break bread together, to appreciate sport together.
"It's a wonderful thing, which recognises that we are one community," he added.
It is the second year that Bradford Bulls have hosted a community Iftar, organised in collaboration with the British Asian Rugby Association.
The club is also working with the Muslim Friendly Employers project to discuss introducing a new multi-faith room and other initiatives like offering halal meat to make the club more inclusive and welcoming.
Bradford Bulls' chaplain Chris Mason and imam Alyas Karmani took part in the event
Ian Stafford, Bradford Bulls commercial manager, said: "I think it's gone really well. We were the first rugby league club in the UK to host an Iftar last year and we wanted to repeat it again, so it's been even bigger and better than last year.
"We've seen a lot of interest from different communities off the back of [last year's] Iftar, particularly online and on social media, so it's working well. It's been a fantastic event."
Among the guests was Olivia McDonagh, from the Rugby Football League, who said: "It's great to see the different parts of the community coming together and celebrating, and doing things we are not used to doing all the time."
Sid Amin, whose business sponsored the evening, said: "Right now, with the way things are, there's a lot of misunderstanding. This way, when people get to see what Ramadan is about, it makes a massive difference.
"The Bulls have been excellent. Together we can pull this off if everybody works together."
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