We are entering Ramadan, one of the most holy periods in Islam. For many, this is a little bit of a mystery. I believe that we, as good allies need to educate ourselves on things we don’t know about, and it shouldn’t fall to those in a group with different traditions and beliefs to explain it to us. So, I decided we should talk about this practice, as I have had the pleasure of participating in multiple events during and around this annual faith practice and decided I could try to help clear up some mysteries.
Like my faith, Christianity and the one ours flows from, Judaism, the Islamic calendar is lunar. So this observance moves throughout our secular calendar. It is ing the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It’s observance is one of the five major pillars of the Islamic faith. It lasts about 29 days running from the sighting of a crescent moon to the next. So, for 2024 it begins on March 11th. For the time of this practice, adult Muslims who are not acutely or chronically ill, travailing, elderly, breast-feeding, diabetic, or the like, fast from Dawn to Dusk. There is a pre-dawn meal, the suhur, and a nightly feast that breaks the fast is called an iftar. I have had the honor of attending several of the later, and after appropriate prayers and meditation it truly is a chance for great community. During the hours of fasting Muslims refrain not only from food and drink, but also tobacco products, sexual relations, and other things they believe separate them from God. Typically, practitioners devote themselves instead to salat (prayer) and study of the Quran. Like Lent for Christians, it is a time of spiritual reflection, self-improvement, and heightened devotion and worship. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the soul. Muslims believe that Ramadan teaches them to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate, thus encouraging actions of generosity and compulsory charity. Muslims also believe fasting helps instill compassion for the food-insecure poor. Having undertaken fasts and other ways of denying myself during Lent, I can tell you it really did focus me on my prayer life and it also reminded me when I would fast for a whole day in high school that there are people in this world, and not far from me in my country, who go to bed hungry every night. Having seen family and friends break the fast with women & men of the faith and having done it myself, I can tell you it is a great chance to get to know someone else’s beliefs. And for me, it has been a meaningful experience. I can tell you years ago, after the horrible events of September 11th, local Mosques and Islamic Schools were under threat. A group of churches, including mine helped out by sending women and men to the schools during lunch breaks to provide extra eyes and protection for the children and allow the faculty and staff a break to take care of themselves. The next Ramadan, after the threats had died down, we are all invited to break the fast at an iftar and we were welcomed into a community and truly had a great meal with friends. And I can tell you every chance since, has lived up to that. So, from one who has enjoyed the spiritual and physical benefits of fasting from time to time, we wish our brothers and sisters of the faith, a meaningful Ramadan, Ramadan Kareem.
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