[News] Diversity Sets the Table for American Muslims Observing Ramadan

[Revo]

 

 

Agadir - The immense diversity of people in the US is reflected in the diverse ways American Muslims spend the holy month. Currently, nearly 3.5 million Muslims of all ages live in the US and about 80% of adults fast during Ramadan. 

 
Like many Muslims worldwide, while daily prayers are not strictly adhered to by 39-44% of American Muslims, Ramadan is an essential pillar that four out of five observe. This number does not take into account those who cannot pray for various health reasons. 

According to the Pew Research Center, 82% of Muslim women and 77% of men fast in the US.  The Pew survey addressed participants' religiosity. Of the surveyed fasting Muslims, 92% said religion is “very important” in their lives and 65% said religion is “somewhat important,” fasted at 65%. But, the surveyors were surprised to find that “even among American Muslims who say religion is ‘not too’ or ‘not at all’ important, a substantial share (41%) say they fast.” 

Business as usual
As a marginalized group and religion, Ramadan is not recognized as a holiday across the states, which means it is life as usual at work and school during their holy month for most Muslims. Unlike in Morocco, US Muslims face people eating in front of them all day at work, school, and outside their homes.

Many non-Muslims are shocked to learn about fasting and believe it could be dangerous. American Muslims have numerous memes reflecting the question they are frequently asked about fasting, “Not even water?!” 

Discrimination is an all too common issue for American Muslims. While only 1% of the US po[CENSORED]tion is Muslim, they account for 2% of the overall workforce, yet they account for 25% of workplace discrimination complaints.

Muslims fasting at work have enough challenges; being told they cannot pray based on the inconvenience of aligning prayer times with work breaks is illegal, yet it still happens.

Community affairs
Great food and great vibes can help ease the troubles American Muslims may have at work. The majority of American Muslims say that mosques are not central to their spirituality. But during the holy month, mosques and Muslim community centers in the US come alive with activity. 

Mahera Islam told Healthline about the feelings of inclusion she experienced by attending the mosque during Ramadan. She said, “You still feel like an outsider many days…. You still feel like your culture, or your ‘lifestyle as a Muslim,’ is somehow not in line with… North American culture,” she says. “Seeing people every day during Ramadan practicing and being unapologetically Muslim brings up your mood, and it makes you feel happy.”

Communities regularly break their fasts together at iftar meals held in mosques every night during Ramadan. These affairs are even bigger and better on the weekends when working Muslims can put more effort into cooking and attending.

Before the Mahgreb prayer, buffet tables are set up in the mosque. Depending on the mosque’s layout, sometimes they are just to the side of the prayer area, in a separate room, or in two areas; one for women and one for men.

After praying, the congregation breaks their fast with an amazing array of dishes. Some mosques cater to specific communities, such as Black American Muslims, Pakistanis, Arabs, regional Africans, and so on. Such mosques will usually have dishes that mostly reflect those cultures.

 
Mosques with diverse congregations will have international-style buffets that can include dishes such as samosas, pizza, biryani, curry, macaroni and cheese, enchiladas, semolina cakes, and so on. There are even vegetarian and vegan iftars in some communities. Leftovers at mosque iftars are plated up for people to take home and have for suhoor.

Wastefulness has been a problem for US iftars and many Muslims are now encouraging ‘Green Iftars’ with a focus on reducing disposable service ware and not wasting food.

After breaking the fast at the mosque, people make dhikr and dua, read the Quran, and socialize. Young people and children thoroughly enjoy the unique opportunity to cut loose with their friends on school nights.

Sahla Denton of Oregon fondly recalled her childhood Ramadans to US media outlet Vox, “One of my favorite Ramadan memories was when I was little and we used to go to the mosque for iftar. It would be me and my friend, and we’d have to help the little kids serve their food, and so I remember going back and forth to the food line so many times, but it was a lot of fun.”

Scheduled lectures and classes on the weekends accompany the nightly tarawih prayers throughout the month. In larger communities, these events can be the highlight of the year with guest speakers flying in from across the globe.

The most charitable month  
Another highlight of the year occurring in Ramadan is giving charity and fundraising, which Muslims universally believe will give them increased blessings for doing so during the holy month. 

Before the pandemic, Islamic Relief USA raised $2 million during Ramadan in its northeast region alone. This accounts for nearly half of what the organization received in the region during the entire year. That is the result of just one organization in one region of the US.

In 2020, Muslim groups shifted some of their Ramadan charity work to focus on those suffering from pandemic-induced hardships. The New Jersey record reported on organizations working at “helping families who are dealing with coronavirus, including health issues and loss of income.”

Among them, “SMILE, along with FaithNYC, The Muslim Network, and the Islamic Center for Passaic County, formed a coalition last month to buy, package and deliver groceries during the pandemic. Even after expanding, the groups are struggling to keep up with the demand spurred by the economic shutdown.” The website added that as the group delivered 500 packages per week, “Another 500 families are still on a waitlist for aid.”

A tinge of sadness
While some Muslims are able to throw themselves into charity work during the holy month, many American Muslims face degrees of depression. For those who have emigrated to America, there is sadness and longing for the normalcy of the Ramadans they experience back home with their extended families.

Some fortunate Muslims in the US are able to visit ‘back home’ during Ramadan. Even fewer have the extra-fortunate opportunity to spend the 10 nights of Laylat al-Qadr Night making umrah.

 
For Muslim converts, Ramadan presents many challenges. After years and cherished memories of celebrating other holidays, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, adjusting to Ramadan can be difficult. 

Fasting is hard for many converts to practice as grown adults who never had the opportunity to playfully practice fasting partial days as children. They also often do not have the support of other fasting people around them. 

Imagine waking in the dark to prepare your support all alone and then breaking your fast alone as well. Worse, some converts experience antagonism from their families of origin who have not accepted their conversion to Islam and what they may view as the extremism of fasting. 

While converts‘ struggles are becoming widely recognized and providing care for converts gets a lot of buzz in Muslim communities, structured assistance lags. 

In 2021, the Convert Muslim Association in the United Kingdom dedicated its Ramadan fundraising to a multi-tiered approach to supporting recent converts to Islam. CMA’s goals were a Convert Care Mapping website to locate care services for converts, a Resettlement and Rehabilitation project for converts leaving the prison system, and a Faithful Companions one-to-one service providing flexible, direct care to converts 

Also in 2021, there were many people referring to the Eid holiday in lockdown, helping other Muslims experience how converts feel every Eid that they spend alone.

Eids like no others
Eid can also be a painful time for some American Muslims who may spend it alone or have to work. But for the majority of Muslim communities, Eid al-Fitr (after Ramadan) is a much bigger affair than Eid al-Adha (honoring Ibrahim’s sacrifice).

Most women attend the Eid morning prayer along with men and children, then families and friends spend the day together if they receive time off from work. In addition to receiving clothes, as is the tradition on Eid al-Fitr, many children are given toys as well. 

Some Eid al-Fitr celebrations run along the lines of backyard barbecues with inflatable bouncy houses for the kids or renting out play-places for the day. From New York to California, larger outdoor “Eid Festivals” held in parks and recreation areas attract thousands of Muslims in the regions. 

US presidents host an Eid al-Fitr dinner that is said to have first been held by Thomas Jefferson in 1805 for a Tunisian envoy. In 1996, former First Lady Hillary Clinton suggested another Eid dinner and it has been hosted ever since. Only former President Donald Trump and the COVID-19 situation have broken the annual tradition.