Skopje, 28 March 2023 (MIA) - Coexistence is our greatest value, and the Iftar dinner is an opportunity to deepen it. Coexistence must not be a victim of daily political interests, especially during election years. Any election victory at the expense of coexistence would equal a defeat to our common homeland, President Stevo Pendarovski said in his address at the Iftar dinner, which he hosted on the occasion of Ramadan fasting ahead of the great Muslim holiday Ramadan Bayram.

Top state officials, representatives of the business community, the religious communities, the academic community, political parties, the media and civil society, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps attended the Iftar dinner, the President's Office said in a press release. 

"The holiest month in Islam, Ramadan, is a time for spiritual recovery, for renewing relations with relatives and friends, as well as for mercy and solidarity towards the weak. Just as the Ramadan fasting is a personal challenge of inner self-examination, so is the Iftar dinner a common act of social justice because it involves making a seat at the table for those who have less. This is especially important in times of global crises that particularly hit the most vulnerable and the poorest. But apart from deepening faith in the life of the believer, the Iftar dinner is also an opportunity to deepen coexistence in Macedonian society," said President Pendarovski.

For our ancestors, he added, there was no greater honor than to be invited to share the dinner table by someone of a different religion. 

"When a Muslim invites you to Iftar, or when a Christian gives you an Easter egg, it is a way of saying that they respect your diversity and accepts you as you are. That's what we're doing tonight. In the past years, I was also honored by many of our fellow citizens - Muslims, who opened their homes and heartily shared their table with me and my colleagues. By sharing food, we also share humanity, reminding ourselves that the person who is different from us is a person equally valuable as us, with similar or identical life sorrows and joys," Pendarovski said.

It is true, he noted, that we have different faiths, we go to different temples, we read different holy books. But what connects us is interethnic and interreligious coexistence as our greatest value that we must protect, and we will not compromise on that, Pendarovski stressed.

"Coexistence must not be a victim of daily political interests, especially during election years. Any election victory at the expense of coexistence would equal a defeat to our common homeland Macedonia. That is why we are here tonight, to say that we will not allow provocation and tensions on that topic. We are here to set an example for all our citizens, that we can live together despite our differences in religious beliefs," Pendarovski said extending wishes for a generous Ramadan month. 

In accordance with Islamic religious customs, the Head of the Islamic Religious Community, Reis ul Ulema Shakir Efendi Fetai, held the closing prayer.

Photo: President's Office