04 August 2009
Ramadan in a Multi-Faith Family
Ilana Alazzeh was born in San Francisco to an Israeli mother and Palestinian father. She currently attends Smith College in Massachusetts, where she stays active in community service and interfaith work, regularly speaking on panels regarding Islam and religious pluralism.
Celebrating Ramadan at Smith College has always been difficult. My thoughts always drift back to celebrating with my family, such as heading to the beautiful masjid every weekend for iftar. Smith’s masjid is less dazzling: It’s a large, bare room. Still, it is a truly blessed place of salaam, and I try to go whenever I am not too tired from homework. The community there is small but diverse, and is one of the most sincere I have ever encountered. It’s not only Muslims, but the religious, the curious and the ambiguous all join each other for breakfast. Ironically, this diversity still reminds me of home.
When my Israeli mother celebrates Ramadan, she always incorporates her heritage into the holiday. For example, while my Pakistani stepfather is downstairs making pancakes, she will loudly sing Hebrew songs from her childhood to wake us up for suhoor. Although she has converted to Islam, she still keeps her Jewish customs alive.
Once, my mother’s father came to visit during Ramadan. He is a small, mischievous and comical man, a Palmach war veteran of Israel. Unlike my mother, he refused to celebrate Ramadan. He would begrudgingly come to the masjid with us, and even though he knew Arabic, he only spoke in Hebrew or English. While we were inside doing our night prayers, he would smoke outside with my stepgrandmother: a Southern Baptist African American who converted to Judaism. It certainly wasn’t the traditional picture of Ramadan.
But even though my grandfather did not celebrate with us, he did respect the holiday. I remember him giving my younger brother a clap for teasing me with food when I was fasting. Even though he wasn’t fasting with me, he honored my decision.
I’ll never forget the night during Ramadan that my puzzle of a family and I piled into our van to see the Christmas lights. We sang Jewish, Christmas and Dawud Wharnsby songs. (Watch the YouTube video “We’ve scanned the sky Dawud Wharnsby.”) My family of different cultures and religions were all celebrating together, enjoying each other’s company and acknowledging our diverse faiths. Although our coexistence was rough at times, it was built out of respect and real love.
My celebrations at Smith will never be able to match Ramadan at home, despite its best attempts. Iftar at Smith’s modest masjid are usually a sad but wholehearted attempt at what’s made at home. However, as my mother stresses, “Ramadan isn’t about iftar.” And she’s right. Ramadan for me is a time of peace and introspection, which ironically happens the most in congregation. It is when I celebrate with others that I feel closer to God. Community begets personal faith and personal faith begets the community thriving with full spectrum in God’s multi-faith world.
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:
14 September 2009
13:26:45-0400
Good, interesting article. Pleasant to read and digest
11 September 2009
11:18:27 -0400
i cant believe...is it possible...aniway grt
11 September 2009
10:27:18-0400
Ramadan is a month of training for a muslim. To know the thirst of a person who could get water to drink, hunger of a poor who could not take meal for a day. A month of devotion to Almighty. Let us come together to unveil the blessings of Almighty showing in the month. May Allah-subhan-o-taala bless every body. A good article indeed. With regards
11 September 2009
02:51:06-0400
Religions come from the way of how people see God. I wish U Strength and guidance of Allah, subhannallah, for your islamic faith. Happy Ramadhan!
09 September 2009
16:56:59-0400
Mashaallah. It's a wonderful real life story that will inspire other people to give truly love,repect and reaching out one another expressing tolerance, freedom in sharing the values of Faith in God who created us, living matters and non-living matters.
07 September 2009
06:28:16 -0400
A well-written, interesting article. Nice to see everyone in this family getting along - unity in diversity.
06 September 2009
17:04:38-0400
I just can tell it is a very good story. I love it so much.
Septo I.
03 September 2009
01:44:21-0400
Great Article! Interesting to read!
02 September 2009
08:21:08-0400
Masha allah
30 August 2009
15:24:56-0400
it is good to see islam being spread in usa i believe islam will be a great religion in usa accepted by blacks then white
19 August 2009
10:16:31-0400
Amazing
