LONDON (LifeSiteNews) — For the first time in history, the city of London had an official display of “Ramadan lights” in celebration of the start of the Muslim fasting month.
Coventry Street in London’s West End, which links Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, was illuminated with 30,000 lights, including a large sign reading “Happy Ramadan.” The display was opened by London’s Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan on March 21, 2023.
“I’m really hoping that people get inspired to do this elsewhere and Europe, elsewhere in the world as well,” Rahima Aziz of the Aziz Foundation said in an interview.
“It’s a victory for us all, for anyone who supports diversity, supports inclusion, is Muslim like myself, […],” the Lord Mayor of Westminster City Council Cllr Hamza Taouzzale said. “It’s a great achievement and we are really happy to have it in Westminster.”
“First one in the U.K., first one in Europe, hopefully not the last and hopefully year on year it gets bigger and […] to have it in Westminster is a huge statement, it’s the heart of government, the heart of our country,” he continued.
In other places in London, public breaking of the fast (Iftar) will be held and a Ramadan pavilion and a “pop-up mosque” has been set up in south Kensington at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the BBC reported.
READ: London will blare Islamic call to prayer during Ramadan as churches remain closed
Furthermore, Chelsea Football Club will become the first Premier League club to hold a public Iftar at their stadium in London, and there will also be a breaking of the fast at the famous Wembley stadium later in the month of Ramadan.
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United Kingdom and Europe, mainly due to immigration and higher birth rates among Muslims. The Muslim population in the U.K. grew by over 40% between 2011 and 2021, from around 2.8 million to 3.9 million. The Pew Research Center predicted that Europe’s Muslim population will grow significantly over the next decades, reaching between 7.4% and 14% of Europe’s total population in 2050, depending on the number of immigrants.
Meanwhile, Europe’s Christian population has been declining for years amid the rise of Islam and atheism.
READ: Muslim converts to Christianity in Europe face ‘persecution’ from family and community: report