The Muslim community in Finsbury Park is distributing free Iftar dinner during Ramadan for any resident going without a meal.
Muslim Welfare House has provided a point of reference for the flourishing Islamic community in North London since its opening in 2019.
Its volunteer-run kitchen has been providing food for those breaking fast every day of Ramadan, but since COVID, it has started making food weekly for everyone.
The Muslim Welfare house administrator, Amar, spoke to Islington Now against a backdrop of stacked boxes filled with the daily 400-500 meals that will make their way into the public’s hands at 5pm, an hour before the sun goes down. He also asked to keep his surname hidden.
“Every day it’s the same: rice and chicken with vegetables and soup, dates, fruit, and water,” he said.
After the meals are collected, people have time to return home and break their fast surrounded by family, or go to prayer in the Mosque next door.
The project is not based on religion. “If you are in need then you come. We have lots of non-Muslim people coming everyday, and also homeless people coming,” said Toufik Kasimi, the Welfare House Director.
Tai Wong, 71, is an example of this: a retired Hackney resident, she has no ties to the Muslim community and still she travels to Finsbury Park to get a free meal: “The food is really good, tomorrow I will come again,” she said.
At 4:30 pm, the queue is already out the gate.
“People demand more now,” said Kasimi, since the escalating cost of living crisis has increased reliance on meal distribution hubs. “We get some ingredients from the Felix Project but we buy our food most of the time,” he said, in reference to s UK Charity redistributing surplus food to charities.
Although the kitchen’s purchases are supported by Muslim Welfare House donors, the operation is run by volunteers – and still it is “the largest food provider in Islington and top 10 food provider in London”, said Kasimi.
More than providing solace to rumbling stomachs, Muslim Welfare House has created a point of shelter for an increasingly targeted community. Last month, the organization Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) published a report on Islamophobia in 2024, revealing that since 2023, incidents of Anti-Muslim hatred had risen by 43%.
Gavon, a non-religious attendee, captured the relief of a community coming together to safely share the festivity’s ritual: “I was so upset during lockdown because we couldn’t have Ramadan. Everyone comes out together during the evening, children, older people – it’s the safest time to be in London.”
Islington Council will also provide a space for its prominent Muslim population to celebrate at the Town Hall this Sunday. From 5:30 pm, Islington Community Iftar will be welcoming council residents for a night of traditional food and company. Tickets available here.
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Highbury patch reporter, photographer, polyglot, student journalist specialising in political and social movement reporting.
