For the second year in a row, hundreds of Muslims observing Ramadan broke their fast and held taraweeh prayers in New York's Times Square.
The weekend event was organised by Muslim social media influencer SQ, in collaboration with Muslims Giving Back and Droplets of Mercy.
Dahlia Tarek, who attended with family and friends, said it was important to provide the space for people to ask questions about Islam in an open and welcoming environment.
“I think the fact that it’s happening in the [busiest] part of the city is an amazing thing,” Ms Tarek said.
“I hope it still keeps happening every year because it’s really good and I hope the population keeps growing.”
At sunset, Quran reciters Faisal Latif and Faraj Hasan led the prayers and people began breaking their fasts with free iftar meals.
Muslims Giving Back said it distributed more than 2,000 meals featuring dates, water, pizza and gyro sandwiches, in partnership with food sponsors. Several hundred people stayed and joined the taraweeh prayers.
Motivational speakers and social media figures gave speeches, including Muhammad Abdul-Aleem (also known as HoopFinesse), who was the event's MC, and blogger Faduma Mohamed, aka speakpure, who was invited as a guest speaker.
The event's goal was to help non-Muslim New Yorkers see how Ramadan is observed.
“Of course Islamophobia is on the rise and our religion is one of the most misunderstood religions in the world, yet we are the fastest-growing religion in the world,” SQ said.
He added that the event, held under the bright neon lights and advertisements of New York's most famous square, was an opportunity for Muslims to come together and also help other people learn more about Islam.
During the prayers, a projector displayed the verses from the Quran as they were recited, along with an English translation.
Yamina Kezadri of Muslims Giving Back said the event was an example of “dawah through action”. Dawah is the act of spreading or preaching Islam.
“You don’t just say dawah or do dawah to people by pushing pamphlets or providing information, but showing and presenting ourselves as Muslims and what we do for our community,” she said.
Haeiko Jaspers, who was visiting New York from Germany, stumbled across the event while walking through Times Square.
“I think it’s a good idea to do it in public and everybody has a chance to understand,” the tourist said.
Representatives from the Jamil Foundation for Children and Youth answered questions throughout and provided literature and learning materials, and distributed free English and Spanish translations of the Quran.
By the end of the night, two people took the shahada and converted to Islam after listening to the Quran recitations.
“That’s easily the highlight of the event,” SQ said.
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At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
