American Muslim youth community organizes annual halal food festival

For four years, the American Muslim youth community center has organized an annual halal food festival to draw Muslim families and also to enhance friendship ties with non-Muslims. 

This year’s festival, held at Rowland Park, drew vendors from Central Jersey, New York City and even as far away as Ohio. Thousands of people attended and they included many local and immigrant Muslims as well as non-Muslims. 

One of the organizers of the festival said that food has a way of bringing people together, even across bitterly drawn lines. 

Vendors at the fair were selling food from many countries, from Turkey and the Middle East to traditional American items such as burgers and fried chicken.