04 August 2009
The Lessons of Ramadan
Ansaf Kareem, the son of Pakistani parents, was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He is a senior at Stanford University in California, active in the Muslim Student Awareness Network, and is senior class president.
Recalling the Ramadan of my youth, I now realize that this holy month meant little more to me than an excuse to hang out with friends at my mosque, located in Portland, Oregon. Although I should have been more attentive to the spiritual aspects of the ceremonies, my focus was on having fun with a diverse group of friends from various backgrounds. As young kids, however, our differences didn’t matter to us; we cared about who could throw the ball the farthest and tell the funniest jokes, not who spoke with the thickest accent. But although we were unaware of the important lesson we were learning, many of the elders at the mosque observed our interactions knowingly. Today, as our mosque celebrates ethnic diversity, many say that it was these early bonds of friendship that helped shape the culture of the mosque.
At Stanford, these same pluralistic and tolerant values are reflected in my Ramadan experience. Our Muslim student groups put on breaking of the fast ceremonies every night during Ramadan, attended by students from every corner of the world. Many of these students state that, despite coming from countries with homogenous religious cultures, their experience of diversity in America has simultaneously challenged their negative perceptions of others and reinforced their own faith in Islam.
Although some aspects of their Ramadan experience are new and different, some remain unchanged. The international students enthusiastically indicated that no matter how far away they felt from home, the familiar sights of communal gathering made them feel welcome. The breaking of the fast, the Arabic call to prayer, and the services that followed reminded them of home, enabling them to cherish these fourteen hundred year-old Islamic traditions in a new way.
These examples of pluralism affected others on campus as well. When we held our annual Fastathon, students from all different faiths and backgrounds participated in fasting for a day to promote awareness for poverty. When Yom Kippur fell on a date during Ramadan, we held a joint breaking of the fast ceremony with Jewish students, sharing our traditions and fasting stories with one another.
This year, I will be observing Ramadan in Pakistan. I look forward to the opportunity to compare this experience in a Muslim-majority country to my experience in America. Although some aspects will surely be different, I am sure that many of the practices will be very similar. This provides a reminder to all Muslims of the powerful tradition we all share. I pray that this reminder of unity and pluralism embodied in the month of Ramadan will extend beyond the walls of mosques, serving as a positive force to overcome prejudice and promote pluralism.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State or any other agency in the federal government.
Readers’ comments:
12 September 2009
04:50:28-0400
The article is very nice. Propably for muslim youths they are have to be well known about the Islam and Ramadhan fasts. Technologies and modern cultures have been activated their growth pointed to something negatives, but those who understood what is good and bad from these modern centuries, they might have well known about the Divine Islam. Its very easy to learn but difficult to process in this modern age. But my simple decission is " If you want to have a place in Jannath then you have to be practice Ramadhan fast" Thank you! Assalamu
alaikkum!
11 September 2009
12:06:56-0400
slaam i,m from pakistan my English is not good so dont mind.well ramazan is the word in Arabic calledتثنیہit means two ramz and the word ramz meaning r as follow
1. heat of the sun
2. the first rain before rainy season
3. to cut to bit or grind the holy prophet says سمی الرمضانلانہ یرمض الذنوبthat the name of ramazan is given to this sacred month because it burn out all the sins of a man who keep a fast. in other traditions the holy prophet explain how it burn all of our sins. because a man who fasts must leave all the evils espacily lie and false actions if he lies being having fast he broke his fast. so all his sins burnt during this sacred month of ramazan. so ramazan became the rain who washes him from all his sins and he became poise
03 September 2009
08:45:39-0400
J am a Malian studunt; j would like to congrate Mr. Ansaf.
28 August 2009
23:19:15-0400
i like to congratulate to Mr. Ansaf, who is doing great job, and doing good for Islam. And i like to welcome in Pakistan
Waqar L
