Turkic American Alliance's iftar brought diplomats together in Washington DC

Turkic American Alliance’s iftar brought diplomats together in Washington DC

Date posted: August 6, 2013

The Turkic American Alliance (TAA), which is an umbrella organization with more than 200 member organizations, and its component organization Rumi Forum came together to host a Ramadan Iftar for many dignitaries in the Washington, D.C. area on Tuesday, July 30th.

The night quickly took momentum as the guests arrived and checked in. Once the head count was set, the evening program started with a brief welcome speech from TAA’s President, Faruk Taban, Ph.D. The speech was quickly followed by introductory videos of TAA and Rumi Forum.

As time drew near to break fast, Ibrahim Tanis, a young TAA intern, recited the call to prayer, also known as the adhan.

There was a wide array of guests present. Ambassadors of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Senegal, Cameroon, Benin, Burkina-Faso, and Albania, Congress members Keith Ellison (MN) and Mike Honda(CA), former senator Norm Coleman (MN), Director of Voice of America David Ensor, journalists, leaders of the Turkic community and organizations, and members of the press were all present.

The theme of this night was interfaith dialogue and the importance of community. Two keynote speakers were Representative Keith Ellison (MN) and US State Department’s Peter Kovach. Rep. Ellison gave an inspirational speech emphasizing the essence of Ramadan and friendship. Following Rep. Ellison’s speech, U.S. State Department Director of Office of International Religious Freedom, Peter Kovach also delivered remarks and shared his thoughts of the holy month.

The surprise entertainment of the night was Dan Nainan, a stand up comedian who offered “one hundred percent clean comedy.”

The evening wrapped up nicely as the guests enjoyed their homemade Turkish cuisines and socialized amongst themselves. In the end, the guests were invited to take a big family picture in front of the flags of the Turkic countries represented here at TAA.