ROSEWOOD PARK, Utah — With July being proclaimed Muslim American Heritage Month by Governor Gox, Muslim communities came together to celebrate with a halal food festival Saturday afternoon.
This is the first time that Muslims have celebrated with events the whole month, after Gov. Cox’s proclamation last year that July would be Muslim American Heritage Month. The local non-profit, Utah Muslim Civic League, has hosted these events.
“I can’t describe the feeling of something that we’ve been working on for months, and days coming alive,” said Luna Banuri, executive director of the Utah Muslim Civic League.
Mayan Mallah runs ‘Kurdish Katering,’ a small business with Kurdish delicacies that she makes out of her home. “I love it, I like to people see my culture food, our traditional bread or sweets.”
She believes that it’s an opportunity to meet other Muslims and people who want to learn about her culture and share that through food.
“When we came to the United States, they were hard to find," she said. "There weren’t many halal food stores, it was hard to find where we could go, and we were very concerned about that."
These communities use food as a way to share where they come from.
“Get to know us, that’s the best way to know your neighbors and build relationships,” said Banuri.
They also hosted a cricket match at the park, with an appearance by a former player on the Pakistani cricket team, Mohammad Asif.
“For Asian people, cricket is in the blood. They’re not going to forget wherever they go," said Asif. "Cricket is not going to go, they love watching with the food and music."
With the hope to keep teaching people about these diverse communities in Utah.
“I’m so excited about this festival and hope for next year to be more," said Mallah. "To educate more people about our culture."
If you want to learn more about the Utah Muslim Civic League, you can get involved here.
