Communal iftar to be held in Abdali after Rainbow Street ban

Amman residents gather near Rainbow Street to share an iftar meal last Ramadan (Photo courtesy of Yalla Neftar Maa Baad)

AMMAN — A local initiative that aims at bringing people together to have an outdoor iftar was banned from holding its activities on Rainbow Street this Ramadan, a Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) official said on Saturday. 

Organisers instead will be allowed to hold their activity in Abdali where the weekly Friday market used to be organised, the initiative’s founder, Ali Hasani, said.

Dubbed Yalla Neftar Maa Baad (Let’s Have Iftar Together), the initiative was first launched on Rainbow Street two years ago, with the aim of getting people out of the routine they get stuck in during Ramadan, and to create a friendly environment where people can make new friends, according to Hasani.  

GAM said it banned the activity this year on Rainbow Street because previously it caused traffic jams in the locality and the noise disturbed area residents.

Mazen Farajeen, head of GAM’s media centre, said the municipality received many complaints from area residents regarding the noise caused by the outdoor iftar, held every Saturday.   

Hasani said he had been preparing for this year’s activities for months, and sent an official letter to GAM to suggest ideas to further develop the initiative and ask for support. 

“I wanted to start selling food and introduce an entrance fee, so I asked for GAM support, but received no response,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone on Saturday. 

Hasani said he then decided to go ahead hold the activity as he used to organise in previous years.

“The head of the Zahran area banned us from holding it because he said it violates public morality. I was surprised because everyone was supportive and families used to attend the event in a friendly atmosphere in previous years,” he added. 

Hasani said around 4,000 people attended the initiative’s activities last Ramadan, stressing that argileh and music were prohibited at the iftars, and there were measures to maintain the cleanliness of the area.  

Farajeen stressed that GAM banned the activity for reasons only related to traffic and public nuisance, noting that the municipality has no objections if the organisers hold their outdoor iftar in any of its public parks in the capital.