The first time ever three-day “Salam Ramadan” event held at Green Path was a grand success with visitors from all faiths visiting the venue at Green Path in Colombo 7 from 21st to 23rd March 2025 to enjoy traditional Muslim foods from all major Muslim communities of Sri Lanka and learn more about Islamic faith and culture through stalls run by CIS Harmony Center, Halal Accreditation Council and Noorani Calligraphy.
CIS Harmony Center’s “Salam Ramadan” stall had among other things a Poster Walkthrough of colourful Sinhala and English posters on the teachings of Islam and the cultural contribution of the Muslim community to Sri Lanka coupled with Q & A, where visitors could ask any question about Islamic faith and practice from experienced tour guides. Other features included a Dress Corner, a variety of traditional Muslim headdresses to try on such as Fez caps and Arabian and Palestinian Keffiyehs and a Calligraphy Corner where visitors could get their names inscribed in beautiful Arabic script on golden board for a very small fee.
The event which had its humble origins in a concept paper the Vice President of Outreach, Centre for Islamic Studies Harmony Center had been circulating among the local Muslim business community to make the Ramadan season a more memorable one received a rather lukewarm response due to the community’s reticent and conservative attitude until it was taken up by Hanif Yusoof, Governor of the Western Province who visualized it as a truly national event that could take place under state patronage.
Before long a special Ramadan Task Force was appointed by the Governor under Rizan Naseer as Chairman and Aman Ashraff as the deputy and the main livewire of the initiative to spearhead the program which met with an immense response by big businesses and the hospitality and hotel trade which came in as sponsors and supported it in many other ways.
Now that we have more or less created a culture of being more open with regard to our festive season with a proud display of local Muslim culture, brightly lit streets and public spaces etc, CIS Harmony Center is hopeful that Ramadan will continue to be a truly inclusive and national event much like Vesak or Christmas.
