COLUMBIA, S.C. — A large group of Columbia's Muslim community gathered to celebrate Ramadan with fellowship on Friday.
For Hamza Adley, the month of Ramadan is more than just a religious requirement; for him, the tradition is also about community and worship. He's a member of the Islamic Center of Columbia and says the 30-day holiday is observed through prayer and fasting.
Muslims refrain from eating or drinking for 30 days between sunrise and sunset every day.
"You are just refraining from it cause God almighty told you to do that, and it's prescribed to you to do that," he said.
On Friday, the mosque held a free meal for the community, something Adley says they'll be doing for the entirety of Ramadan.
"Middle Eastern food, Bangladeshi food, soul food, you name it," Adley said. "We have Muslims from all over the world here. We pretty much got it all, almost a month of 30 nights of cultural food."
On Friday afternoon, people came in and out of the mosque to pray. Just before 8 p.m., the fast broke, and they ate.
Adley says that, outside of religious factors, Ramadan allows people to form a community and share love.
"You've got a brother sitting next to you from maybe Egypt and you've got another brother sitting next to you maybe from Philly," Adley said. "For that amount of people to come together and sit so close together, we really stuff ourselves beside each other."
And after 30 days, Adley said the holiday ends with a final celebration on the last night, called Eid al-Fitr.
"We celebrate the breaking of the fast and all the accomplishments that we were able to do during the month of Ramadan," he said.
Adley said he hopes more people will learn about the tradition and what it stands for.
"All are welcome. All are welcome for questions, all are welcome for reading material. All are welcome for viewing and spectating. All are welcome out of curiosity to learn, just for simple knowledge," he added.
For more information, visit the Islamic Center of Columbia's website.