Firefighters from Southsea were invited to find out more about Ramadan during a visit to their local mosque.
Blue Watch spent time at Jami Mosque and sat down after sunset to eat and drink with the community following the day’s fasting.
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims won’t eat or drink during the hours of daylight. It’s also a time for prayer and good deeds.
Firefighter Ethan Salha organised the visit as a way of explaining more about Ramadan to his Watch mates.
He said:
“My idea was that we would go down to the mosque and show support.
“We are aware of the community there and they are aware of us as a fire service, but I thought we could get to know each other and bring awareness to each other.
“I find Ramadan a great time to bond with my family. It was an honour to be invited to the mosque. We were so welcomed and it was a good moment to be there with my Muslim brothers and my firefighter brothers.
“The whole Watch was very interested and had so many questions about Ramadan.”
Ramadan will soon come to an end and Ethan, who is wholetime at Southsea and on-call at Botley, added:
“My Watch and my management team have been incredibly supportive.
“The idea of fasting is not to put yourself in a vulnerable state and as we work on a shift basis I’ve been able to adapt.”
