Photo: Mike Macklin/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The New England Muslim Festival brought many to City Hall Plaza Saturday, aimed at celebrating diversity and promoting unity.
The fourth annual culture fest celebrated the different foods, music and customs that exist throughout the Muslim community.
“We have a very rich culture like other communities, and once people get to know more about the Muslim community … Maybe this will try to break down some of those barriers and hopefully diminish the Islamophobia,” said Mohammad Shadid, who’s with the Islamic Council of New England.
This year’s festival comes amid the escalating violence in the Middle East. Shadid said everyone’s hearts are with the people suffering on the other side of the world.
“What’s happening there is a disaster for everyone — all parties, all citizens, all innocent people dying on all sides,” Shadid said. “We all need peace everywhere.”
Even in the current times, the festival’s main goal is to create tolerance and friendship in the community.
“For the Muslim community to come together, to display our diverse culture, to showcase that diversity among the Muslim community, to be proud of their heritage, [gives] this new generation something to look for to integrate with the larger community here in Boston,” Shadid said.
WBZ's Mike Macklin reports.
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