Ramadan Mubarak! Ramadan, the Muslim month of sunrise-sundown fasting, began earlier this week. I am always intrigued by the ways that non-Muslims interact with such a profound and seemingly extreme period of self-denial. So for this week’s Sunday Brunch edition of The Reading List, we’re looking at how Jews–and other non-Muslim Americans (I’m suddenly wishing I knew a Muslim term equivalent to goyim)–are experiencing Ramadan.
First, I’ll explain the video above. This video is actually from last year, when my housemate Joey, who is Jewish, was convinced by our Muslim housemate Affan’s sister who owns Elan Magazine–an irreverent Muslim mag with such features as “What the Fatwa?”–to do Ramadan for the full month and keep a video diary of his experience. On a trip to visit me here at my home in Texas, Joey ate chicken fried steak for breakfast and, in the same day, a four-meat barbecue plate for dinner. So I want you to understand what an undertaking this was for Joey. But he did it and the video results are hilarious and occasionally touching and meaningful. The video above is the introduction video. The highlight of the introduction video is the reaction of his New Jersey Jewish parents to the project. I’ll put a few more of my favorites from the month at the bottom of this post.
This year, as in the past couple of years, Ramadan has fortuitously coincided with our own most famous season of self-denial and introspection, the month of Elul and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
In the Qu’ran, God proclaims that “fasting has been written down (as obligatory) upon you, as it was upon those before you”. According to the earliest hadith, this refers to the Jewish practice of fasting on Yom Kippur. [Wikipedia]
Unfortunately, Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that concludes the month of Ramadan, will fall this year on 9/11. And it has some Muslim leaders worried.
Eid al-Fitr, a joyous holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, this year falls around Sept. 11 and Muslim leaders fear that their gatherings for prayer and festivities could be misinterpreted by those unfamiliar with Islam as a celebration of the 2001 terrorist strikes.
The lunar calendar that Muslims follow for religious holidays is creating the potential for misunderstandings or worse in a year when American Muslims are already confronting a spike in assaults on their faith and protests against new mosques. [USA Today]
Meanwhile, in Israel, security was stepped up for the beginning of Ramadan last week as Israeli Muslims and Palestinians flocked to Mosques, especially to Al Aqsa Mosque:
Israel will deploy 3,000 police officers in and around Jerusalem to prevent any outbreak of violence as Muslims gather for the first Friday prayers for the holy month of Ramadan, police said.
[…]
There will be no restrictions to enter the compound around the mosque, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmulik Ben Rubi said. The compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram-al-Sharif.There are, however, certain restrictions on Palestinians entering Jerusalem from the West Bank, Israeli police said. The restrictions apply to all men younger than 50 and all women younger than 45, Rosenfeld and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
There will be no restrictions to enter the compound around the mosque, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmulik Ben Rubi said. The compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram-al-Sharif.
There are, however, certain restrictions on Palestinians entering Jerusalem from the West Bank, Israeli police said. The restrictions apply to all men younger than 50 and all women younger than 45, Rosenfeld and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. [CNN]
USA Today’s Faith and Reason blog has a roundup of non-Muslims hosting iftars, post sunset meals, for their Muslim neighbors. The list includes President Obama’s annual White House iftar, New York politicians who’ve come out of their downtown Muslim community center-induced stupor for similar events as well as a Chicago synagogue that will be hosting a dinner. The post concludes with an appropriate question for this year’s Ramadan; “Can hospitality — an open door to people who differ from you — make a difference? Or are the mosque protests disconnected from religion at this point?”
And speaking of the White House iftar, Obama chose this year’s dinner as the moment to finally enter the discussion over Cordoba House, the project to build a Muslim community center in downtown Manhattan. It’s a lovely subtle touch to have waited until this moment to jump into the fray. A bit from his speech:
Today, our nation is strengthened by millions of Muslim Americans. They excel in every walk of life. Muslim American communities–including mosques in all fifty states–also serve their neighbors. Muslim Americans protect our communities as police, firefighters and first responders. Muslim American clerics have spoken out against terror and extremism, reaffirming that Islam teaches that one must save human life, not take it. And Muslim Americans serve with honor in our military. At next week’s iftar at the Pentagon, tribute will be paid to three soldiers who gave their lives in Iraq and now rest among the heroes of Arlington National Cemetery.
These Muslim Americans died for the security that we depend upon, and the freedoms that we cherish. They are part of an unbroken line of Americans that stretches back to our Founding; Americans of all faiths who have served and sacrificed to extend the promise of America to new generations, and to ensure that what is exceptional about America is protected – our commitment to stay true to our core values, and our ability to perfect our union. [Full text at Talking Points Memo]
And, as promised, more videos of Joey. In this first one, Joey is having trouble not cursing, not touching girls and not eating. He learns that drinking beer during Ramadan lead to miserable mornings. He also has a conversation with a homeless guy.
Here’s day eight. In this one, I’m holding the camera as Joey visits the cafeteria at school and discovers he can get to-go containers and take piles of food back to our house. We also have a little chat with another Muslim friend of ours. I don’t know what she was doing in the cafeteria at that hour, but…
And here’s the finale video, which has some of the best moments from the whole month.
Ramadan Mubarak!
