More Interfaith Ramadan Events Were Held In Metro Area

By Carla Hinton Religion Editor chinton@oklahoman.comImad Enchassi held up a brown oval-shaped piece of fruit in the palm of his hand as he spoke at a recent interfaith gathering in Oklahoma City. "Take a selfie with me and say 'I had a date with an imam,' " Enchassi said as he took his own self-portrait with the crowd. Laughter erupted from the audience. Smiling, Enchassi placed the date in a bowl full of them and began a more serious discussion about his Islamic faith and the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. As founder and senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, Enchassi had found himself the center of attention at the Dialogue Institute of Oklahoma City's Ramadan Fast-Breaking Dinners and other similar events since Ramadan began on May 26. He said he typically attends several interfaith iftar dinners during Ramadan, but this year there were noticeably more such meals than ever before. Enchassi and several individuals from other faith communities said they welcomed this as a positive sign for the metro. "As an imam, it's always been my instruction and my preaching to our community that we should outreach to as many people as possible," he said. Enchassi said he counted about 16 iftar events open to the general public or held in an interfaith setting during the 30 days of Ramadan. "It seemed like this year, we had people ask us to come to their place, which is an awesome thing considering the charged political atmosphere and the hatred and violence around us," he said.Read more on NewsOK.com