Charleston Central Mosque in the United States of America (USA) treated the visiting African participants of the International Visitor Leadership Program to American Muslims hospitality after they provided Iftaar to the visiting religious leaders for five days during the holy month of Ramadhaan.
According to dispatches from the USA that have been accessed by Malawi Muslims Website, the visiting delegation was quite impressed with the hospitality of the Charleston Muslim community at the Central Mosque such that they could not believe that their five days tour at the masjid has ended.
The moderator of the delegation, Ali Salah Ben Hamouda from Niger, thanked the Muslim community of the Central Mosque of Charleston, South Carolina for hosting them and sharing iftaar with them.
“The way this community has welcomed us since we came here, there is every indication that they understood the message of the last prophet – peace be upon him….. Therefore, on my own behalf and on behalf of my colleagues, I sincerely thank the entire Muslim community for hosting us, may God reward them,” he said.
Hamouda also thanked Chelsea Rosendale for all logistical arrangements that made them feel at home in the foreign country.
“I felt at home indeed. It is like these people are the ones who invited us to come here (the USA), this is indeed the true Islamic spirit of hospitality” said Hajjat Hafsat Muhammad, one of the participants from Nigeria.
The religious leaders are visiting the country on a State Department-sponsored trip called the International Visitor Leadership Program and the theme for this group is “Tolerance and Interfaith Dialogue: A Regional Project for Africa”. More than 200,000 International Visitors have engaged with Americans through the IVLP, including more than 335 current or former heads of state or government. From Charleston, the group will make three more stops at Detroit in Michigan; Tulsa in Oklahoma; and finally Salt Lake City in Utah.
This year’s participating countries are: Benin (1), Burkina Faso (1), Cameroon (1), Malawi (1), Mali (2), Niger (2), Nigeria (1) and Uganda (1).
