CAIRO- Ahmed Suleiman took a seat at one of the charity fast-breaking banquets in the rich neighborhood of Maadi, on the southern outskirts of Cairo. Such free meals are common in the Egyptian capital during the Muslim holy fmonth of Ramadan. "My home is not in Cairo, but I work here. I come to the banquet everyday after finishing my work to have a meal," said the 33-year-old man, who works in a nearby construction site. Scores of iftar (a fast-breaking meal) charity banquets, are hosted on streets of the mega- city by wealthy people and charitable associations during the holy month to serve poor people and the passers-by. Charity banquets are one of the main features of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar during which Muslims abstain from food, water and other bodily pleasure from dawn to dusk. Ramadan also commemorates the revelation of the Holy Qur'an to the Prophet Mohamed of Islam. "We offer around 500 to 600 free iftar meals each day in Ramadan for poor people, a larger number than last year. Sometimes, the number can reach 700, depending on the financial resources available," said Osama Ismail, a supervisor of one of the iftar banquets organised by Egypt's reputable Resala Charity Association. "Most of the meals offered by Resala are delivered to families,on whom the association have conducted sociological research and known they are in real need of food," Ismail told Xinhua. "Some others come to the society's headquarters and attend the iftar banquets." "Our goal is to make the people feel they are treated as human beings. They come here and have a seat while volunteers serve them as if they were in a coffee shop or a five-star hotel," Ismail said. The Ramadan fast is one of the five pillars of Islam;and the end of the fast is celebrated as one of the important religious festivals of Islam known as Eid al-Fitr.
