Reading groups

The politics of public iftar tables in (post)secularized cities 

Public iftar tables have become more visible in secularized countries over the last decades, acquiring a range of new symbolic, religious and political meanings. Academic research into the development, shifting meanings and dynamics of public iftar tables is scarce. Anthropologists of Islam have given very limited attention to Ramadan and breaking fast in Muslim minority contexts. Some have noted discussions among Dutch Muslim community members in the 1990s about opening up breaking fast and celebrations of Eid-al-Fitr to non-Muslims, contrasting this early debate about potentially conflicting Islamic principles with what has become common practice today (Sunier 2018, 2023). 

Over the past decades, Dutch (non-)Muslims understood participating in public iftars as acts of solidarity emphasizing ‘feelings of togetherness, reflection and celebration’ (Buitelaar 2006, p. 82). Indeed, iftars have become symbolic public events organized by both official institutions and grassroots organisations, featuring politicians, religious or community leaders as keynote speakers. Organisers in the UK have mentioned the importance of breaking down stereotypes and talking back to prejudices about Muslims and Islam (Jones 2022). While some public iftars revolve around certain themes such as social inclusion and harmony, others take activist stances concerning racism and discrimination, ecological sustainability or raise funds to express solidarity with global Muslim populations suffering from war or occupation.

Sociologists and urban ethnographers have analyzed public iftars as forms of claiming and normalizing religious visibility in secularized urban spaces (Hassani 2024; Clot-Garrell et al. 2023; Albert-Blanco 2023). In this regard, the selection of places is crucial, at times reshaping and reappropriating well-known secular urban spaces to temporarily host religious events. This means that making claims of civic adhesion, participation and presence, in addition to creating cultural and symbolic acts of solidarity and conviviality, may overshadow religious, spiritual dimensions of the events (Clott-Carrell et al. 2023). This work has drawn attention to the role of municipalities in regulating and governing urban religious events such as public iftars (Bramadat et al., 2021), the role of ‘urban myths of conviviality’ in sustaining local narratives about urban religious diversity (Martínez-Ariño, 2021) and ‘religious super-diversity’ as an approach to understanding the city and (inter)religious life as shaped through continuous dialogue (Becci, Burchardt, and Giorda 2017).

Within the frame of the Enlight-GRACE network, we invite papers discussing past or ongoing work on public iftar tables to discuss collectively in an online reading group. Proposals are welcome that are situated within or across the disciplines of anthropology of Islam, urban anthropology/sociology and religious studies. Through bi-weekly online meetings we will organise internal readings and feedback of your work. The series of meetings will result in a Special Issue proposal with the aim of publishing participants’ papers.

Possible approaches include but are not limited to the following axes

• Transformations of religious meaning: have iftars obtained new religious meanings as a ritual event that moved into public space, shared with non-Muslims. How is the transformation of ritual/religious events received and experienced in communities across generations?
• The role of class and charity: how do iftars function as differently associated with class and social status. Iftars are often organised as charity events in which food distribution for the needy is a crucial part, yet they can also be associated with the higher classes or political and entrepreneurial elites organising iftars for purposes of political diplomacy. What is the differing role and visibility of class, solidarity, charity and sharing with the needy in public iftars?
• International/political aspects: some iftars receive support from international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (such as Islamic Relief), while others have a strong political meaning (such as expressing symbolic and financial support for Palestine). In some cities, iftars are also an important event for international and geopolitical relations, and they include the participation of ambassadors, consuls and other representatives. How do international politics and relations shape the organisation of public iftars?
• Political/cultural contestations: expressions of resistance against public iftars by right-wing actors, parties or groups. What shapes does this resistance to public iftars take, how is it articulated and how does it relate to broader anti-Muslim racism or Islamophobia?
• The cities’ public space regime: the selection of particular cities and locations to organise public iftars. In which spaces of these cities do they take part? What are the possibilities of appropriation of public spaces by these events? How are they related to broader narratives about the city and narratives of conviviality, multiculturalism or cosmopolitanism?

Submission guidelines and dates

• Submission of abstracts (max. 250 words) by June 1st, 2025. Proposals should include your current affiliation and contact information, a short bio (max. 100 words), and the paper’s title. Please send your proposal to An Van Raemdonck (an.vanraemdonck ugent.be) & Victor Albert-Blanco (victor.albert uab.cat)
• Notification of acceptance: June 15th, 2025
• Submission of draft papers: Sept. 14th, 2025
• Eight bi-weekly reading groups sessions will be held online between Oct.-Dec. 2025. Over the course of eight sessions, all participants will offer and receive feedback to their work.

An Van Raemdonck (Ghent University) & Victor Albert-Blanco (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)