Cairo: Saudi Arabia has organised in Indonesia a long iftar or fast-ending banquet in the month of Ramadan, with the event recorded as the longest iftar held so far this year in the ASEAN countries.
ASEAN refers to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional grouping of 10 countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The record banquet was organised by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Call as part of an overseas iftar initiative named after Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. More than 15,000 Muslims attended the 2,500-metre banquet, according to Saudi officials.
The event set a record in terms of the longest iftar banquet hosted in 2024 in the ASEAN countries, according to the Indonesian World-Record Museum (MURI).
In recognition of the effort, MURI handed a record certificate to the religious attaché at the Saudi embassy in Indonesia, Ahmed Al Hazami, at a ceremony attended by Indonesian Islamic and political figures.
Saudi Ambassador Faisal Abdullah recently launched the Custodian of the Holy Mosques’ Programme to offer iftar meals and distribute copies of the Holy Quran and palm dates.
Similar initiatives were carried out for Muslims in other countries including Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the occasion of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Muslims have to abstain from eating and drinking daily from dawn to sunset during the lunar month of Ramadan, which started earlier this week.
Muslims traditionally end their fast in Ramadan by eating dates, following the example of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
