In a gesture symbolising religious harmony, a temple in Kerala organised an Iftar party for Muslims on Thursday.  

Lekshmi Narasimha Murthy Vishnu Temple in Malappuram held the Iftar party for Muslims breaking their fast in the holy month of Ramzan. The temple has been doing renovation works and has been conducting Punaprethishta (restoration) rituals from May 29, which will go on till July 4. 

The Iftar party was conducted as a part of these rituals. As many as 400 Muslim people participated in the function along with 100 people belonging to other communities.

Nearly 300 Muslim families also have funded the restoration of the temple. The temple is located at Vettichira, which is also Muslim dominated region.

“We have grown up in an atmosphere of religious harmony. What matters for us is humanity, not religion. Everybody has the right to follow their religion or caste, but it does not mean that we should not be friendly to people of other religion. We should not close our heart from welcoming people of other religion” Temple Committee Secretary PT Mohanan told the News Minute.

The Iftar party was held in the house of Mammu Master as the temple could not accommodate so many people.

The dishes were vegetarian including the traditional Kerala meal, sadhya. Muslim families in the area were informed in advance of the party and they turned up in large numbers “There was no hesitation from anybody’s part. The response was overwhelming,” Mohanan added.