San Diego Muslims host ‘breaking of the fast’ for Ramadan

Muslims with the Islamic Center of San Diego had an interfaith iftar with about 90 community members at a Mediterranean Cuisine on Wednesday. 

Muslims with the Islamic Center of San Diego had an interfaith iftar with about 90 community members at a Mediterranean Cuisine on Wednesday. 

Attendees included law enforcement and elected officials, organizers and clergy.

“We hope that this beautiful tradition will remain and grow as an opportunity to build and strengthen our relationship,” said Imam Taha Hassane, director of the Islamic Center of San Diego.

This year’s holy fasting period came amid ongoing criticism of Islam, following terrorist attacks worldwide in which gunmen have pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State.

There are no current estimates of the Muslim population in San Diego County, according to local Muslim leaders. Between 2000 and 2010, the county’s Muslim population grew by 179 percent, from 7,878 followers to 21,994, according to the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.