London’s West End lit up in ‘surreal moment’ to celebrate Ramadan

When Aisha Desai was a child growing up in North London, one of her favorite things to do was to see the Christmas lights in the West End every year.

Little did he know that one day he would be on Coventry Street near Piccadilly Square, and when the holiday lights were switched on, he would be celebrating a holiday closer to him – Ramadan.

“It was a surreal moment. It was a pinch-me moment,” Desai, founder of Ramadan Lights UK and the main force behind the display, told As it happens host Nil Koksal.

“I would never have thought in my years of living in the West, in London, that I would see my faith represented in such a positive light, in such a beautiful way.”

The mayor flipped the switch

The famous Piccadilly Circus area is famous for its spectacular display of holiday lights every December: Santas, snowflakes, angels and other symbols of Christmas are suspended above the street in the middle of thousands of lights.

But this is the first time the streets have been lit up to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, despite the fact that Muslims are the second largest religious group in the city, according to latest UK census.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, himself a Muslim, turned on the switch that was first turned on last week.

During the holy month of Ramadan – this year it is celebrated from March 22 to April 21 – Muslims fast during the day, breaking the fast at sunset with a festive meal.

Desai said that while there are many Muslims in the UK and in London itself, the interest in Ramadan lights has gone beyond just people of faith.

“It’s amazing to see so many tourists taking pictures, and then the tourists actually ask Muslims on the street, you know, ‘What does this mean? What does Ramadan mean?'” he said.

“It’s great to see a non-Muslim neighborhood enjoying the light.”

Reactions from around the world

Desai got the idea for the Ramadan display about three years ago. He and his sister were talking about the lights they saw in the Middle East for the holidays, and they wondered if they could bring the joy they felt there back to London.

“We said, maybe we can just start putting Happy Ramadan signs, lit up. So I crowdfunded through the community in North London, in particular – my hometown where I’m from – and where we started the project.”

He said he didn’t expect to come together in London’s iconic West End – or to be met with positivity from around the world – including Canada.

“I’ve had a lot of people, people message me … on Instagram asking if we can bring this to Canada next year and how we can replicate it, which is amazing,” he said.

“That’s why I want to do something like this. [It] to inspire others to do the same for their faith.”

Change in the acceptance of other religions

He says he has seen a big change in London towards accepting Islam and traditions like Ramadan since he was a child. He respects the younger generation.

“There are many other young Muslims who have started a wonderful initiative. We are breaking the fast,” he said, referring to a public meal where people of all religions are invited to join and break the Ramadan fast.

“There’s a lot of things happening now from the younger generation. And it’s really causing, creating, this change… It’s a good moment.”

The turnout for the first night the lights came to London was even bigger than Desai expected, with hundreds of people filling the streets.

“Everybody had the biggest smile on their face. And when I talked to everybody afterwards, they were like, ‘This is a historic moment. We’ve never seen anything like this before. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.’

He responded to the praise by saying that he did it for everyone.

“This is for me. This is for my four-year-old niece. This is for my parents. This is for, you know, all walks of life, Muslims, non-Muslims – for everyone,” he said.

“We hope to inspire other young people of other faiths to do the same.”