On Thursday evening, Carlisle United welcomed the local Muslim community into Brunton Park as part of the Ramadan celebrations for 2024.
This is part of the club’s activities to connect with and welcome new people. We had over 130 people in total at the event, which, for a first event, was truly exceptional.
The Muslim community were very pleased to be invited to the ground to hold this Iftar as they are also keen to develop links with the football club.
We also had representatives from Hilltop United FC and two of our current CUFC Ladies’ team players, who are originally from Afghanistan, were also present.
This was an open Iftar, which means members of the non-Muslim community were present including Cumberland Council Leader Cllr Mark Fryer and a number of CUFC fans and Carlisle United Community Sports Trust.
The evening began by welcoming everyone to Carlisle United and our invited guests, Mayor Abdul Harid and Imam Abdul Rashid, spoke to all present. Carlisle United chief executive Nigel Clibbens welcomed everyone to the club.
Imam Rashid went on to explain a little bit about Ramadan and its significance and explained why fasting during Ramadan is so important.
At sunset, we broke the fast with traditional dates and water, and this was followed by prayers from led by Imam Rashid on prayer mats on the pitch. The call to prayer from young boy Abdul Muta’al was incredibly powerful and wonderful to experience.
After prayers, everyone came inside and we shared traditional food, provided by well-known local takeaway, The Maharaj on Botchergate, in Carlisle.
The food was mainly funded by the Fans for Diversity project, as part of the work of the Football Supporters’ Association, with additional funding from the Mosque and another benefactor.
It was lovely to see everyone mixing together and the evening had a very happy feel to it. So many people who attended said that they had enjoyed the evening immensely and that it had been a moving experience.
We are now looking forward to welcoming everyone back to our final home game of the season on the 20 April, once Ramadan has ended, as a post Ramadan celebration of football for the community.
Our EDI strategy is very wide reaching and has achieved great things in the past two years, not least the bronze award for the EFL Code of Practice on EDI and Mental Health.
We look forward to working with many more community groups from all backgrounds to Carlisle United.
- Imam Abdur Rashid said: “I'm sure beautiful and genuine sentiments motivated this noble event. The organisers from Carlisle United, Carlisle Refugee Action Group, the Football Supporters’ Association and Carlisle Islamic Centre cannot be appreciated enough for their joint efforts. We often don't realise that a collaboration of multiple organisations is a much praiseworthy feat especially for a cause that is dear to minority members of our community. Heartwarming to see the thoughtfulness of the club manifest on this blessed month for Muslims. I anticipate this to be the first of more worthwhile pursuits.”
- Mohammed Dalechsaid: “It’s been exciting working in partnership with the Carlisle Islamic Centre and Carlisle United this Ramadan, to highlight the importance of community solidarity, which I believe is the gateway for change and unity in the community. The attendees, volunteers and supporters symbolise diversity and social cohesion, and make up people from all faiths, backgrounds and walks of life in Carlisle. I am proud of the legacy that we have rooted in the heart of Carlisle in line with our Islamic faith, and I hope we can further this by working collaboratively with the community and Carlisle United.”
- EDI Officer Nigel Davidson said: “This event has been long in the planning, and I am so proud to see that it has taken place and been such a success. It has been a pleasure to plan, and this culminated in a very emotional evening on the Brunton Park pitch. It is so important to make all sections of our community feel welcome at Carlisle United and this event went a very long way towards that. As Imam Rashid says, ‘beautiful and genuine sentiments motivated this event’ and he is correct. There is much ‘box-ticking’ and ‘virtue signalling’ in the world today, but I have to say that the desire for this event and everything we undertake at Carlisle United in the EDI & Mental Health space is truly from the heart.”
- Chief Executive Nigel Clibbens said: “This was something new for the club and a real success. We were delighted to welcome everyone and I’m sure it will go from strength to strength in future years”
- Mayor Abdul Harid said: “It was a privilege to attend the local Iftar event, this is the first Iftar event in the City that I have attended. This brings the whole community together, we celebrate our diverse City to bring everyone together, we show respect to each other. It is about working together and celebrating. I thoroughly enjoyed the event; it was an opportunity to meet people from different professions and backgrounds. I hope the event is hosted next year even bigger, and I would like to thank Carlisle United and the organisers for hosting this special event.”
- Council Leader, Mark Fryer said: “Last night was awesome! And when the call the prayers was sang at Brunton Park it was spine tingling. Wonderful to see the community coming together like this. We need more of it.”
- Jon Greenwood from Carlisle Refugee Action Group said: “This was such a good event, bringing together different faiths, increasing understanding and sharing food and all with common ground of football joining everyone together. Feedback from asylum seekers, refugees and volunteers was very positive. Congratulations to all concerned on such a positive event.”
For those who would like to know more about Ramadan please see the link: https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/how-does-ramadan-work-a-beginners-guide
Carlisle Islamic Centre: https://www.carlisleislamiccentre.org/
