The theme of Ramadan Festival 2024 is Heritage: Past, Present and Future.
Heritage is a showcase of the past, preserving the importance of history; it is the thread that weaves this history with the present and designs the future.
Ramadan Tent Project: Our History
Since 2013, Ramadan Tent Project has connected and convened over one million people from all backgrounds. For over a decade, we are honoured to make history, delivering unprecedented events at some of Britain’s most loved landmark locations. Highlighting the rich heritage and diversity of people, places and thoughts underpinning the interconnectedness of our societies and communities. The more we understand the interconnected web of relationships that make us who we are, the easier it is to respect those who may seem different to us.
What is Heritage?
Heritage can be understood in its tangible form, from buildings and monuments to manuscripts and paintings, and its intangible form, the customs, values, and human connections, stories that shape our understanding of a people and society. In fact, faith has played a prominent role in the heritage that is preserved and admired, leaving a lasting impression on landscapes, and fostering unity through cultures and practices. Through an Islamic lens, the Qur’an can be seen as the greatest heritage; God’s word collected as it was first revealed during the month of Ramadan to Prophet Muhammad PBUH, before being compiled into the Holy Book we hold and find spiritual sustenance today.
Heritage and Ramadan
Heritage preserves the essential spirit, culture and tradition of a people, and the month of Ramadan is an embodiment of the rich Islamic culture, tradition and heritage that is observed by millions across the globe as a journey of self-reflection, spiritual sustenance, and mindfulness. A journey, with the idea of community at its core, that preserves the essential spirit of what it means to be a Muslim, embedded in the increase in charity, compassion, prayers, and care; tables are extended and the vulnerable are taken care of with community at its core, and a dedication to grow closer to Allah.
Ramadan Festival: A Celebration of Heritage
The annual Ramadan Festival is a celebration of British Muslim heritage. We celebrate tangible heritage through architectural inspiration at our biannual Ramadan Pavilion, and its public programme that focuses on art and culture. We co-create spaces of belonging through a deep understanding and appreciation of our shared cultural heritage. Shedding light on the remarkable contributions and legacy of the Muslim world has made to British culture and way of life across the centuries. Take the Guildhall for example, which enjoyed the first Open Iftar event in its 2000-year history, or the Open Iftar event at Shakespeare’s Globe which was dubbed ‘a reminder of England’s forgotten relationship with Islam‘.
Ramadan Tent Project is proud to continue to curate spaces in which human connections can be formed, to reflect, self-reflect, recalibrate our place in this world and sense of belonging. For the past decade we have been weaving a dynamic history that will live on through stories, memories, families, and archives. It is for that reason, the theme for Ramadan Festival 2024 focuses on the importance of heritage, its preservation, celebration of identity, culture, and belonging to bridge and welcome people of all faiths and none.
