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	Members of the LGBT community are invited to share Ramadan celebrations with the Muslim community on Saturday.</p>
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	The Irish Muslim Peace &amp; Integration Council said they are inviting the LGBT community to &ldquo;share in their blessings of Ramadan&rdquo; which focuses on abstinence and sharing.</p>
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	&ldquo;Ramadan inspired and motivated us to reach out. People think that Muslims can&rsquo;t reach out to the LGBT community, but that&rsquo;s wrong. We can open our hearts and doors to anyone,&rdquo; said a spokesperson for the Islamic council.</p>
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	Ramadan is the annual month during which Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex between dawn and sunset.</p>
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	The LGBT community are invited to share in the &lsquo;Iftar&rsquo;, a meal that ends Ramadan, in the Al-Mustafa Islamic Centre at Blanchardstown on Saturday.</p>
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	&ldquo;Last year we extended the invitation to the Jewish community and this year we thought it would be nice to extend the invitation to the LGBT community because they have been marginalised and suffered as a result of the Orlando shooting.</p>
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	&ldquo;As more than one billion Muslims worldwide celebrate Ramadan by fasting and appreciating the blessings given to us, it is important for the Irish Muslim community to reach out to our neighbours as an example of true Islamic ideals.&rdquo;</p>
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	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 30th June 2016)</p>
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	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-muslim-community-invites-lgbt-community-to-share-ramadan-celebrations-this-weekend-34846049.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-muslim-community-invites-lgbt-community-to-share-ramadan-celebrations-this-weekend-34846049.html</a></p>
