NILAI: Al-Azim mosque in Taman Semarak, Nilai, hosts iftar every weekend throughout Ramadan, and says it receives around 300 to 500 foreign nationals.
The foreign residents are involved in the preparation by 'gotong-royong' (mutual help) to prepare the iftar meals for all the foreign nationals.
However, not only foreign residents live and work around Taman Semarak, there are also those who come from around the Klang Valley.
Al-Azim mosque, Taman Semarak chairman Md Fakarudin Ab Rahman said issues of race and nationality are set aside by prioritising religion first at the mosque.
"They maintain and enliven the mosque with full rows extending to the back. On regular days, the tarawih prayers fill up to five rows," he said.
Commenting on the meals prepared by foreign residents themselves, Md Fakarudin stated that they monitor every process carried out in the mosque, even assigning specific tasks to individuals.
"Some may have doubts regarding the meals prepared, especially in terms of cleanliness, but we establish procedures that have to be followed.
"They enliven the mosque, and we welcome them, not limited to just one nationality," he said.
The Bangladeshi community leader in the area, Hafizul Rahman Asynur, 37, said that he and his friends personally collect funds to cover the costs of purchasing raw materials.
"We change the menu every week; sometimes it's biryani rice. Today (yesterday), we made plain rice with chicken and goat curry along with fruits and water.
"Alhamdulillah, we are grateful because the mosque provides for us regardless of skin colour.
"Despite being far from our country and family, this treatment touches our hearts," said Asynur, who has been working in Malaysia for 12 years.
#Ramadan, mosque, iftars
