Gay Muslim Influencer Hosts Inclusive Ramadan Iftar
Berlin-based influencer Ali Darwich brought together friends of different faiths to promote tolerance and acceptance.
Ali Darwich, a gay Muslim influencer based in Berlin, Germany, recently brought together friends of different faiths and backgrounds for an inclusive Ramadan Iftar, using the meal to send a message of tolerance and acceptance.
A 33-year-old German citizen with Palestinian and Lebanese roots — known by his handle @alifragt_, or “Ali asks,” on Instagram — Darwich invited 15 friends from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and religions to the Iftar, the evening meal during Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for 29 to 30 days.
Drawing on his experiences as a young, queer Muslim — including a period when his mother didn’t speak to him for six months and relatives stopped inviting him to family gatherings after he came out — Darwich now speaks about the importance of tolerance and inclusion. While he and his mother have since reconciled, he says he drew strength from friends during that difficult time, finding a community that supported and accepted him.
In one of his Instagram videos, Darwich sits alone at a table during Ramadan and reflects on the loneliness some LGBTQ Muslims face when they are shunned by their families. He urges people to open their hearts and doors to queer Muslims so they don’t have to be alone for Iftar.
“You deserve to break your fast surrounded by people who accept you — fully and without conditions,” he told his LGBTQ Muslim followers.
One of those who stepped up for Darwich was his friend Rand Weiser, a 40-year-old German-Palestinian influencer who opened her home so he could host the interfaith Iftar. Weiser prepared a feast of freekeh soup, fragrant yellow rice with almonds, raisins, and cardamom, grilled chicken drumsticks, and a variety of sweets for dessert.
She told the Associated Press she received “some hate” on Instagram after posting that she planned to host an inclusive Iftar, but said most of her followers agree that “you can be Muslim and gay or lesbian.”
“Tonight we want to send a message that no matter where a person comes from, no matter who that person loves, no matter how queer that person is, they cannot be too queer … because they are exactly as they should be,” Darwich told attendees at the multicultural Iftar.
One attendee, Darwich’s friend Haidar Darwish, a male belly dancer and artist from Syria, said finding a supportive community where one belongs is important.
“The hate and crimes against women, Muslim people, Jewish people also, and queers and trans siblings of mine have increased,” Darwish told the AP. “But no matter how much the others will show us hate, we can show more love only if we are believing in ourselves.” He added that people from communities under attack will be fine as long as they have “the help of our allies and friends and people that have our backs.”
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