When something nice and wholesome happens, there’s always someone who wants to ruin your parade. Recently, Mayor Mamdani hosted an Iftar in City Hall. On social media, New Jersey-based content creator Matt Bernstein shared that he too got to attend. What transpired was obvious hatred from Republican politicians, who shared their anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media. Matt garnered some hate as well for still attending despite being Jewish and called out the politicians for their blatant hypocrisy.
At the start of Matt’s video (TikTok/mattxiv), he shares that this was his “first Ramadan.” He’d been invited, but more importantly, attending Ramadan sounded “fun.” Because for Matt, he isn’t “paralyzed” by the fear of someone else’s culture. Instead, it’s actually very liberating. But to Matt’s disappointment, he was under the assumption that celebrating similarities and differences was something everyone learned “when we were five.”
Matt then says that some people need a refresher, and shares a series of Tweets posted by several Republican politicians, all of whom had something mean and nasty to say about Muslims and Mayor Mamdani. Texas Congressman Brandon Gill said of Mayor Mamdani’s celebration as “Stomach churning. Truly repulsive.”
Tommy Tuberville, a senator of Alabama, wrote “The enemy is inside the gates,” along with a photo from 9/11 and Zohran Mamdani. Matt notes Mamdani would’ve been “nine” at the time and that both Gill and Tuberville celebrated their religions in government buildings, too.
“So as someone who was there,” Matt says, “we ate dates, and chicken and rice,” shared what they were thankful for, and went home afterwards. “No one tried to convert me,” says Matt, nor were there any “secret plots.” It was food, conversation, and reflection.
Matt argues the problem really stems from propaganda of 9/11, and that this anti-Muslim hate is “getting kind of weird.” He then wonders, “Why am I being yelled at by sitting congress people for having dinner with a brown man?” More importantly, the ones that do have a problem are the ones “committing unthinkable atrocities,” which Matt cites the U.S.’s strike on an Iranian school as an example.
With his closing remakes, Matt says “Ramadan Mubarak” to those who celebrate and says it’s OK if you don’t celebrate, too. “See how easy that was?”
People Reacted With the Same Accepting Nature Matt Showed
Most people in the comments of Matt’s TikTok video were very appreciative of his willingness to participate. Others, after seeing a glimpse into Ramadan, hoped and wished they get to experience it, too.
“I’m atheist, I’d be honoured if someone I liked/respected invited me to their important religious celebration,” one commenter wrote. They said it shows “empathy,” and that learning about culture is good for you. A Wiccan in the comments shared a similar sentiment, stating they’ved cooked Iftar meals for their Muslim friends. “They were always so sweet and appreciative of it.”
One Muslim in the comments wrote that the disgusting Tweets on Twitter broke their “heart.” They thanked Matt for “posting and bringing attention” to it. “This sounds like an incredible experience. As an agnostic I’d have been there in a heartbeat,” one commenter shared. Hey, if there’s good food, I’m in.
