Hundreds of Muslims gathered in New York’s Times Square for iftar and Taraweeh prayers, The Taraweeh in Times Square event, organized by Way of Life SQ together with Droplets of Mercy, is an annual tradition that began in 2022 and serves as a public display of faith and unity during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Each year, hundreds gather to pray together and break their fasts.

Organised by Muslim American content creator WayofLifeSQ, the event drew large crowds and included the distribution of 1,200 copies of the Quran in multiple languages and free ricebox distribution to the prayer participants and any visitors who walked past the prayer’s sites.

New York City is home to roughly 1 million Muslims, nearly 1 in 8 residents, making it the largest municipal Muslim population in the United States.

In an interview with Docummented, SQ told “They are in our prayers, This is as much their country as anyone else’s. … To me, serving our community and being a good neighbor is what makes you American. It’s not just about being born over here. It’s about what you give back to society and there’s a lot of immigrants that do great things for this country and it should be recognized for sure.”

Many participants of the Taraweeh Prayer in Times Square including local residents and tourists expresses their gratitude and enthusiasm of embracing the holy month of ramadan in Times Square

“I wanted to have a different experience besides praying at home and to be among others of my faith, especially as I’m with my now husband, who recently converted to Islam.”

—Nikey Anderson, 40, of Brooklyn.

“We are on holiday from the UK, so Alhamdulillah, I am still keeping my fast and, you know, on top of it,” said Zia Rahman, 33 of the UK. “I feel very happy to see this in person…I said, ‘I’m in New York.’ I was going to do my iftar at a restaurant — and [then] I said ‘Why not?’ I’m gonna do my iftar here and I’m gonna pray with my family.”

Reference : https://www.newarab.com/news/hundreds-gather-new-yorks-times-square-ramadan-iftar