For the second year in a row, hundreds of Muslims observing Ramadan broke their fast and held taraweeh prayers in New York’s Times Square.
The weekend event was organised by Muslim social media influencer SQ, in collaboration with Muslims Giving Back and Droplets of Mercy.
Dahlia Tarek, who attended with family and friends, said it was important to provide the space for people to ask questions about Islam in an open and welcoming environment.
“I think the fact that it’s happening in the [busiest] part of the city is an amazing thing,” Ms Tarek said.
“I hope it still keeps happening every year because it’s really good and I hope the population keeps growing.”
Statement regarding Fatih Seferagic’s invitation to lead public taraweeh prayers in Times Square.
Droplets of Mercy was not made aware of the presence or participation of the individual in question, nor were we informed of his appointment to lead the prayer. We would like to emphasize that we have no prior or current connections with this individual. The individual’s involvement in the event we sponsored was not known to us.
Our values center around upholding justice. Moving forward, should they be involved in any future events, our organization will abstain from participation.