Islam

Ramadan Dining Options in Arlington Limited During Coronavirus

By Vernon Miles

With many local restaurants closed, finding halal food for iftar during this Ramadan season may be more difficult for some Arlingtonians.

Ramadan started last night (Thursday) and runs through Saturday, May 23.

Dine After Dark, a nonprofit organization encouraging local restaurants to extend their hours for Ramadan, said on its website that the current season of activities is cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but listed few local options for ordering food.

Busboys and Poets in Shirlington (4251 Campbell Avenue) is offering options like halal chicken, from fried chicken to chicken soup. Busboys and Poets is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Dine After Dark also recommended City Kabob & Curry House (3205 Columbia Pike), which is open from 12:30-8:30 p.m.

ARLnow also reached out to few other local restaurants, including those from last year’s roundup:

A employee at Fettoosh (5100 Wilson Blvd) said the restaurant was open for take-out, but encouraged local Muslims to also consider getting a hot meal from Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church (3159 Row Street) instead of driving around looking for open restaurants.

Ravi Chatkhara (303 N. Glebe Road) doesn’t have any specials but says the regular menu (which includes halal options) is available for takeout and the restaurant will remain open until 4 a.m.

Namaste Everest in Pentagon City (1201 S. Joyce Street) has dumplings and halal chicken available from 3-8 p.m.

Our restaurant guide has ordering options for a number of other eateries with halal options.

Photo via City Kabob/Facebook

Here’s a Look as Some Iftar Options in Arlington for Ramadan

By Vernon Miles

It’s Ramadan and for millions of Muslims that means fasting from dawn to sunset.

Breaking that fast each day with the evening meal of Iftar is often a community experience. Here in Arlington, a few local restaurants have late-night menus or specials specifically for iftar.

Those restaurants with special post-fast menus include:

  • Tarbouch Mediterranean Grill (3110 Lee Highway) — An employee said the restaurant has a full-service buffet with soup, sweets, fruit and juice for $24.95. The restaurant is open until 10 p.m.
  • Ravi Chatkhara (303 N. Glebe Road) — An employee said the Pakistani restaurant has an iftar menu with specialty omelets and different kinds of food available. The restaurant’s online hours said the restaurant closes at midnight, but the employee said the kitchen is open until 4 a.m.
  • Fettoosh (5100 Wilson Blvd) — A Moroccan restaurant with an iftar menu featuring pancakes, Moroccan sweets, juice, and milk. An employee said the restaurant is open late in the evenings with no reservations needed.
  • Cloud Lounge (2525 Lee Highway) — An upscale, 18-and-older restaurant and coffee shop with an iftar buffet.

Both Kabob Palace Family Restaurant (2315 S. Eads Street) and Afghan Kabob (2045 Wilson Blvd) said they have no special menus or items for Ramadan, but that they have traditional dishes available after sunset. Afghan Kabob closes at 3 a.m.

Katherine Ashworth Brandt, president and founder of Dine After Dark — a nonprofit organization encouraging local restaurants to extend their hours for Ramadan — said the Busboys and Poets in Shirlington (4251 Campbell Avenue) is participating with extended hours. The restaurant is scheduled to be open until 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Photo via Tarbouch/Facebook

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Body Found in Submerged SUV — “Authorities were working Monday night to recover a body inside an SUV submerged in the Potomac River [near Roosevelt Island]… D.C. Fire & EMS said they found tire tracks leading into the river and divers were able to locate the SUV by 6 p.m. Monday. Sources confirmed to News4 that a body was trapped inside.” [NBC Washington]

Clarendon Beer Garden May Open Next Month — “The 22,000-square-foot space, dubbed The Lot… [is] anticipating an early June opening, pending final permit approvals, with plans to incorporate drinking games, picnic seating, and tacos.” [Eater]

UMD Coming to Crystal City? — “The University of Maryland is scouting out potential sites in Crystal City, where it could potentially help to feed Amazon.com Inc.’s long-term plans to hire at least 25,000 workers to support its second headquarters. The state’s flagship university is in the market for between 20,000 and 25,000 square feet to support the growth of HQ2, according to sources familiar with the situation.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Mosque Security Measures — “Members of an Arlington, Virginia, mosque are being trained on how to respond to an active shooter. Worshippers are learning how to take security measures to protect themselves and save the lives of others. The training follows mass shooting at houses of worship around the world.” [Voice of America, Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Church to Hold Talk on Islamophobia Tonight

By ARLnow.com

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington at 4444 Arlington Blvd (Photo courtesy UUCA)(Updated at 11 a.m.) It’s been planned for at least a week but the results of the election may bring renewed interest to a talk at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington tonight.

The church, at 4444 Arlington Blvd, is holding a discussion entitled “Islamophobia: Replacing Fears with Facts.” The event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

From a press release:

The Committee for Peace and Justice in Israel/Palestine (CPJIP) of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington is hosting a talk entitled: Islamophobia: Replacing Fears with Facts, presented by Ms. Meira Neggaz, Executive Director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), in Washington, D.C.

Neggaz will present ISPU’s groundbreaking research on Islamophobia and will lead a discussion of what each of us can do to combat discrimination against historically marginalized groups, including American Muslims.

The talk is open to the public. Congregants from the Moroccan American Muslim community and neighboring Christian and Jewish congregations are expected to attend.

Local Officials to Participate in ‘Muslim Town Hall Meeting’

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Central Library(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) Confronting a wave of national Islamophobia in the wake of high-profile terror attacks, community leaders in Arlington are aiming to tackle bigotry via civic engagement.

A “Muslim Town Hall Meeting” has been organized and is scheduled to take place from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street).

The town hall, described as a “non-partisan community event,” is being hosted by the groups NOVA Muslim Americans and Veterans Challenge Islamophobia. It will take place in three parts:

  1. “Civic engagement panel discussion”
  2. “Political engagement panel discussion”
  3. “Tackling Islamophobia”

Scheduled speakers at the event include:

  • State Sen. Adam Ebbin
  • Arlington County Board members Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey
  • Arlington School Board member Nancy Van Doren
  • Arlington Police Chief Jay Farr
  • Baroness Pola Uddin of the British House of Lords
  • Jim Driscoll of Veterans Challenge Islamophobia
  • Kip Malinosky, Chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee
  • Eric Brescia of the Arlington County Republican Committee
  • Ghizlane Moustaid, Chair of GMU Muslim Association
  • Yasmine Taeb, co-author of “Fear, Inc. 2.0”