MEMBERS of Skipton’s Muslim community welcomed representatives from North Yorkshire Police to share an iftar meal with them this week

Chief Constable Lisa Winward and Deputy Chief Constable Mabs Hussain, along with other members of staff, joined the community as they broke their fast on Wednesday night.

Iftar is the meal that Muslims share to break their fast at the end of the day during the month of Ramadan.

Organised by Sergeant Arfan Rahouf, North Yorkshire Police’s Operational Lead for Faith and Belief, the event was held at Ings Primary School, with the food provided by MyLahore.

Chief Constable Lisa Winward, who was fasting, said: “Ramadan is a very special time which highlights the dedication and devotion of our Muslim community.

“It’s a time of reflection and gratitude for the good things in our lives, helping those less fortunate and kindness, something I definitely felt here.

“I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone who came along and also to Arfan for organising such a brilliant event and bringing us all together. Ramadan Mubarak.”

Special guests also attended, including Nazia Nazir from PardaParadise, the company which supplies North Yorkshire Police’s bespoke police hijab.

The PardaParadise team spent over twelve months designing the hijab, making sure it conformed to vigorous safety standards and was fit for purpose.

Nazia said: “I would like to thank North Yorkshire Police for giving me this opportunity to get involved in designing and producing a product which is close to our hearts.

“We have gone through the strictest guidelines with health and safety to ensure the police officers wearing the hijab would be comfortable, and also safe, wearing the head and neck piece hijab set.

“I am humbled and proud to be involved in a project like this which has enabled PardaParadise to support Muslim officers.”

Sergeant Rahouf, who was also involved in the hijab development, said: “I’m immensely proud of the hijab design and I would like to thank Nazia and her team for their continued support.

“It's really important for us at North Yorkshire Police to make sure that the uniform for each and every police officer is fit for purpose, and I’m really pleased to say this design has now been made available to 43 officers across North Yorkshire Police, as well as other agencies nationally.

“By coming together to share iftar we can deepen relationships through a greater understanding of shared values, which results in us being able to deliver a better service.”