Iftar Dinner at Carnegie Mellon

It is weekend, finally. But as always, important things have to be done. Today, it is an open-heart surgery. Metaphorically speaking. You replace the German operating on your computer by a superior one, an English version. That means spending half of the day installing programs anew, recovering old emails, configuring your laptop. Luckily, the operation is successful, except for a few details. You now have to live without a German spell check in Word and without a standby-function. But that wasn’t good for the climate anyways.

In the early evening, you head to Oakland, where both major universities in town are located at: Of course the University of Pittsburgh, your alma mater. Almost unbelievably old for American standards being founded in 1787. The other institution is Carnegie Mellon University, named for two of the city’s heyday industrial magnates. Probably as a step to foster understanding of Muslim religion and tradition, the university is hosting its fourth annual Iftar dinner. Iftar is the Arabic word for the evening meal for breaking the daily fast during Ramadan. That this event was instituted after Nine-Eleven makes you wonder about the current state of Muslim/non-Muslim dialogue in the Western world. Didn’t a conservative politician in Germany recently demanded a data base for Muslim converts as perceived “security threats”, something that would violate basic human rights as well as the country’s constitution?

Imran and Rizwan, two Muslim co-students, have volunteered for setting up the tables, regardless of the fact that Carnegie Mellon could be considered enemy territory for Katz students. The Muslim Student Association as the host of the evening has put an emphasis on reaching out to the numerous non-Muslims. The origin, purpose and character of Ramadan are explained. While the evening prayer, the Maghrib, takes place in the same room as the non-Muslims watch, the Arabic words are transcribed and translated on Power Point slides. Before the prayer, you had the opportunity to watch and listen to a muezzin, reminding you of the artistically sung calls to prayer in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Finally, for your hungry fellows, the dinner starts. Scrumptious food catered by a local Indian restaurant puts a smile on everyone’s face. From Chicken Tikka Masala to Naan bread, a good range of traditional dishes is provided. The buffet is supplemented by a variety of home-made desserts. This assortment shows more of the merging cultural influences in the States with Baklava and unnamed Arabic treats next to chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately, the offered Arabic coffee is a disappointment being too watery and only lightly cardamom-flavored. But what you are sipping is probably the Saudi version of Gahwa, not the strong, sweet beverage that you drank in an Arabic café in Haifa.

After the dinner, your group walks back to Shadyside, buses are a rare species on the weekends. On your way a gentle but cold wind blows in your face – fall is approaching quicker than you thought. Some Bollywood movies have made it to Nigeria and so Mayowa and your Indian friends sing a cheesy Hindi love song together, for the amusement of the whole group. After meeting up with Polly’s brother, you conclude the day with the beverage of choice in one of the cafés on Walnut Street. Vodka-orange juice for the health-oriented, soda for the traditionalists and wheat-flavored water for the majority of the group.