Northwestern’s Turkish Student Association hosted an inter-faith dinner Sunday in an effort to extend a Turkish tradition and promote cross-cultural understanding.

The meal was held during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. In Turkey it is traditional for Muslims to eat dinner with family and friends during the month to foster their relationships, said Birol Baskan, the association’s public relations chairman.

“We’re just trying to revitalize the same idea,” said Baskan, a third-year political science graduate student.

The dinner also featured short speeches from leaders of various religious groups on campus. Univesity Chaplain the Rev. Timothy Stevens and Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein spoke about the Christian and Jewish perspectives on interfaith cooperation. Philosophy Prof. Souleymane Bachir Diagne offered the Muslim perspective. Naci Koru, Turkey’s consul general for Chicago, discussed Turkey’s historical dedication to religious and cultural toleration.

The invitation-only event’s guest list included leaders of student groups, members of the association and local families who cooked traditional Turkish foods for the dinner.

“We wanted to use this opportunity of Ramadan dinner to increase tolerance and understanding among people of different religious and cultural backgrounds,” Baskan said.

Food for the dinner was provided by several Turkish and Turkish-American families from the Chicago area contacted by the group.

Chicago resident Sevim Canevello and her family helped prepare traditional Turkish dishes such as borek — dough-filled rolls stuffed with spinach, potatoes or eggplant. Canevello attended the dinner with her husband, sister and nephew.

Between 60 and 70 people attended the dinner, said the association’s social chairman Mustafa Guler, a second-year chemistry graduate student.

The event comes as NU works to respond to several recent incidents involving racial and religious slurs.

Some speakers noted that toleration and respect does not mean people of different beliefs cannot disagree.

“We don’t always see things through the same lens,” Klein said. “Unfortunately, over the last few weeks, we’ve seen disagreements which come out of hate.”

However, events such as the dinner can help lessen the impact of such incidents, Bachir said.

“I think this kind of venue is one of the best possible answers to all the hate and slurs that have been heard or written here or there lately,” Bachir said.

Several of the speakers, including Klein and Bachir, encouraged listeners not just to “tolerate” but respect and embrace other beliefs, and praised the dinner as a way to promote those ideals.

“I’m constantly impressed by student groups that are reaching out beyond their natural constituencies,” Stevens said. “That kind of outreach in so admirable and so important to building community on campus.”