Using Eid Al-Fitr as a Model for Hospitality
Eid Al-Fitr, or the ‘Feast of Breaking the Fast’ is celebrated by Muslims all around the world at the end of the month of Ramadan. In 2021, this holiday it is celebrated around May 13. (Like Ramadan, because the holiday is based on a lunar calendar, the date changes from year to year.)
Many Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Fitr by hosting a large gathering and meal for family and friends, just as they would for the iftar-meals that mark the end of the fasting days throughout Ramadan. Especially in the predominately Muslim Middle East and North Africa region of the word, the hosts of these celebrations are renowned worldwide for the radical hospitality shown to their guests – be they family, friends, or even perfect strangers!
Practicing Radical Hospitality
I experienced this radical hospitality first hand, living for seven years in Egypt. During Ramadan and other feast days, I would delightedly accept an invitation to an iftar or Eid meal. As was customary, I’d join the gathering around an hour or so before sunset, when fasting-time would end. Even then, the feast – dish after heaping dish of savory and sweet foods – would already be spread out on the table, allowing everyone to dig in the moment the first note of the sunset call to prayer could be heard.
Without exception, I’d be met with a warm and genuine greeting at each home I entered as a guest, regardless of the fact I was not fasting. Often I’d even be offered a plate of food or drink before sunset, when others would break their fast, which I would have to politely refuse – generally more than once! In fact, I quickly learned to quietly excuse myself to the restroom or some other out-of-the-way place in the moments before sundown – otherwise, someone who had spent the day fasting would become more worried about making sure I filled *my* plate, instead of breaking their own fast!
To me, these hosts of ‘iftar’ and Eid meals represent the epitome of hospitality: doing everything possible to ensure a guest or someone unfamiliar to a new environment feels welcome and comfortable.
Hospitality in the Work Place
So how is this relevant to nonprofits, and other small businesses?
If you’ve ever been new to an organization – perhaps you have experienced hospitality at your new workplace. Or, perhaps your experience wasn’t a good one, and you wished you had been shown a bit more hospitality!
While hospitality in the workplace can ease the transition for a new hire, it’s also good for business. Workplace cultures that can be described as warm, caring, or relational (in other words – those that practice hospitality) are noted for the following benefits in the Harvard Business Review’s 2018 guide to the eight critical elements of organizational life: improved teamwork, engagement, communication, and trust, as well as strong employee and customer/client loyalty, retention of talent, lack of conflict, and high levels of engagement.
What You Can Do
As non-profit or small business leaders, here are some things you can do to ensure your work environment is a welcoming one, and that new hires, clients, and guests alike experience hospitality.
As a leader, emphasize sincerity, teamwork, and collaborative relationships among coworkers.
Ask questions that invite people to come together to explore new opportunities.
Model that it is OK to ask for help. Asking for help demonstrates your trust in others, which in return invites others to trust you.
Consider your physical space as well – does the set-up of the workspace allow for collaboration and connections
Further resources:
Grosyberg, B., Lee, J., Price, J., & Cheng, J. (2018). The Leader’s Guide to Corporate Culture. Harvard Business Review.
Hagel III, J. (2021). Good Leadership Is About Asking Good Questions. Harvard Business Review, 1-4.
⭐ Join our weekly newsletter where we share tons of exclusive tips, tools, grant opportunities, and resources to our subscribers. Subscribe on the Spark Group home page.
