The Rumi Forum in cooperation with the Better Understanding Club of Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia hosted an Interfaith and Intercultural Ramadan Iftar Dinner in the Rivers Room at Old Dominion University on Thursday the 12th of October.  Guests of the event included the President and members of the faculty at ODU, prominent scholars, members of clergy and individuals from various faith and cultural communities.

The evening began with the Islamic call to prayer and was followed by a delicious iftar dinner or breaking of the fast meal.   Dr. Ali Yurtsever the President of the Rumi Forum gave the welcoming address to guests. In his speech, he stressed the importance of interfaith and intercultural dialogue.  Dr. Yurtsever stated that "Rumi's universal message serves as the basis of our mission, which is to facilitate dialogue by promoting love to transform hate, understanding to prevent misinterpretation, flexibility against rigidity, and, above all, tolerance to overcome bigotry".

The meal was then followed by remarks from Dr. Rosen Runte, President of ODU who spoke about the importance of communication amongst different cultures and religions.   Other distinguished guests who spoke throughout the evening included, Steven Jolly, Pastor of Freemason Street Baptist Church of Norfolk;  Rosalin Mandelberg, Rabbi of Ohef Shalom Temple in Norfolk;  Mrs. Jagdish A. Singh, President of Asian Indians of Hampton Roads.  Rabbi Lawrence Forman, the Director of the Institute of Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding and the faculty adviser for the Better Understanding Club, completed the evenings program with important remarks about dialogue which included "we can make the world a better place by being known to each other".   The Rumi Forum and the Better Understanding Club would like to thank the guests and participants of this event in helping to make it a most memorable evening.