Ethiopia: Thousands attend Iftar dinner in Addis Ababa

Thousands of devotees from Ethiopia’s Muslim community took part in a large-scale street iftar, a fast-breaking dinner, during the holy month of Ramadan on Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, to raise funds to help internally displaced citizens.

“People are displaced in our country because of man-made and natural causes. We want to help and support these people during this fast-breaking dinner with crowdfunding,” said Elias Kedir, one of the event’s organizers.

Millions of people across Ethiopia have been displaced by conflict and drought.

The event was also attended by the head of Ethiopia’s Islamic Supreme Council who called on muslims to continue being charitable even after Ramadhan.

Ethiopia, a heterogenous mix of ethnicities, is majority Christian while approximately a third of the population is Muslim. Internal strife in the country has sometimes taken on a religious dimension.