ZANZIBAR, March 10 -- AS the call to prayer echoed across the New Amaan Complex on Saturday, thousands of fasting Muslims sat shoulder-to-shoulder, dates and water in hand, waiting to break their fast together.

Within seconds, the vast stadium became a sea of shared prayer, gratitude, and community, what officials say may have been one of the largest collective iftar gatherings ever held.

The event, attended by more than 15,000 people, may have set a world record for the largest simultaneous breaking of fast.

Zanzibar President Alhaj Hussein Mwinyi described the historic gathering as the first National Iftar of such scale in Zanzibar, bringing together thousands of Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.

Speaking to participants, Dr...