3 Organizers Expand New York Eid Banquet Since 2024 as SWANA Scene Broadens

1 articles · Updated · The Cut · Aug 10

Kashif Shaikh, Deana Haggag and Zara Rahim have run an annual New York Eid Banquet since spring 2024, turning it into one of the city’s most sought-after community gatherings.
The banquet grew out of a need to come together after October 7 and has since widened beyond Muslim New Yorkers, with co-host Ramy Youssef pushing to introduce non-Muslim friends to iftar traditions.
That event sits inside a broader SWANA cultural network in New York, where venues such as Huda and Barzakh function as gathering hubs for artists, chefs, musicians and organizers.
Across that scene, projects now span parties, readings, exhibitions, fashion, publishing and restaurants, reflecting a diaspora community building both cultural visibility and mutual support.