Ramadan day 1 - Carrollton Mosque

DAY 1 - CARROLLTON MOSQUE, FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 
URL: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan-day-1-carrollton-mosque.html

Experiencing Ramadan

This is an effort to document and record the Iftaar experience with every Muslim denomination, it is a journal of how each tradition within Islam, and a sub sect within each practices Ramadan. The biggest idea that jumps out is seeing the differences and understanding that they are cultural and not religious.

Much is written in this blog, but the focus will be today’s experience. Over the years, I have been visiting different Mosques for Friday prayers, and today, it was the Frisco Mosque (picture below), a temporary Mosque in down town Frisco, as the construction for the new Mosque is about to start.

First Iftaar of Ramadan at Carrollton Mosque

Carrollton Islamic Center, 1901 Kelly Blvd, Carrollton, TX 75006

Nearly 150 people attended the Iftaar, possibly because of the invitation to witness the ground breaking ceremony to expand the Mosque.  www.carrolltonmasjid.org 

Click the picture to enlarge 

There is one thing that I have been missing in the mosques; fellowship.

However, it was a beautiful experience tonight at the Carrollton Mosque.  The weather was remarkably pleasant and the fellowship was perfect. Usually people dash in and out, but this evening all of us had an opportunity to sit down and socialize and wait for the sunset.

The Christian Church has a formal structure to encourage fellowship. Almost every Church I speak at, has a follow up gathering in the fellowship hall for visiting with each other. I had always longed for that environment in a Mosque, it is not common, nor is it conducive for Muslims now, as they  have to go back to work after the Friday congregational prayers. However, the original Mosques were  community centers for people to come together. My references is strictly the United States, and India, where I am from. I have no idea how they do in Muslim majority nations where Friday is a holiday for them. I hope someone shares that.

I really enjoyed the Iftaar, everyone got to sit down and chat up with each other, and one Sheikh was asked to give a short talk, he was good, and did give a short talk in the few minutes left to do the Iftaar.  Apparently he is from Morocco.

So when the sun’s last ray disappeared, the Amir  (by the way his name is Aamir, but pronounced differently) announced that it was time to break the fast. Traditionally it starts with a bite  of the Dates * and  in some traditions it is the water.   Can you imagine the consumption of  nearly 5 billion dates tonight across the world to break the fast? 

Each mosque has a little different tradition, for instance, in Madinah Masjid (Carrollton)  the Imam recites the Iftaar prayer, and the group repeats after him before they break the fast, however, it is little different in Shia tradition, and Ahmadiyya tradition is identical with the Sunni tradition. Insha Allah, I will document the differences to understand and respect them as cultural practices rather than religious ones. 

19 Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157630675003498/show/

Iftaar was followed by the Maghrib (dusk) prayers, there is very little difference in traditions, but there is some. Thank God, arrogance has no place in my heart to say which one is standard, it is what is in one's heart that matters. 

The next thing was the ground breaking ceremony, each one in the leadership got a shovel and a hard hat, and started filling the hole with the dugged out dirt. It should have been the other way around.  They even got a silver shovel for the Amir - the leader: Dr. Amir Shakil.  Glad to see the women taking their turn and even the kids got to throw up some dirt with excitement.

Dinner was healthy and good, the Arabic puffed up bread was fantastic, one of my favorites.  I just wanted to say to my wife that I ate only half the bread watching my cholesterol.  The beans were excellent! Good choice of food!

It was a pleasure to meet some of the friends after a long time.  I remembered 20+ names but there were several more I could not.  I just cannot get the names out, so I will not list any. I don’t want to hurt the feelings of those few whose name is blocked in my mind.  About ten years ago, I could call on every name in most gatherings, I just cannot do it it now, the mind blanks out.  Dear God, help me out the names!

It was a beautiful Iftaar and the evening.

Ramadan day 2 - Richardson MosqueSchedule: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-iftaar-schedule.html

Mosque in Frisco, one of the fastest growing cities in America.

Something to think about

Two years ago, I was intrigued by a tafseer/ exegesis that I read in this Mosque, the book was printed in Madinah, about what idolatry meant. It was a beautiful writing and I wanted to read that again and perhaps copy (iphone pic), but have not found the book again. It had the broadest meaning and would have been perfect to talk about in the interfaith gatherings. Indeed, I had a similar conversation with Michael Wolfe prior to release of his film "The message". I will have to go back and check again where this wonderful book is.

I was early, so I read Sura Baqra- the second chapter in Urdu, the translation was done by Dr. Tahir-ul Qadiri. The flow was much better than some of the other translations.  I did not get to read the whole chapter, but a few verses made me stop and think .

2:212, (Qadiri translation) starts with, "life for the Kafirs was set up for the worldly pleasures."  The word Kafir was used as though there is a community of people out there, who are called Kafirs. Kafir is a generic word for those who hide the truth, deny the truth or pretend the truth to be different, and it is an individual attribute rather than a group label. I will have to study and read Asad’s translation. Although it has the simplest meaning, it has acquired a derogatory status to ridicule other people.

2:222 (Qadiri Translation) - talks about avoiding intimacy with wife until she is pure or clean again. I have severe difficulty with that translation. It gives the impression that a woman is unclean or impure. Instead, if the translation had said, “avoid intimacy with wife until she is through with the menstruation,” it would have meant a natural process. Dr. Qadiris’s translation falls in the same pit as the other ones before.    I will have to check Dr. Laila Bakhtiar’s or Edip Yuskel's translation on that.  


Even the translation of 2:223 does not meet the civility prophet Muhammad taught. Please remember, Quraan is divine and God's word, and it is always about justice, fairness and for goodness of the humanity. The issues we are having are with translations, even the Arabic writers have mis-intepreted it. The burden of finding the truth falls squarely on us, after all, no one but us is responsible for our actions on the Day of Judgment. 

An individual asked me if will be back tomorrow,  and I said probably two weeks from now. As a reason, I explained to him that I visit a mosque a day of different denominations during Ramadan. He jumped the gun and asked if I went to the Shia Mosque, which is an yes. He was too eager to say they were wrong. He told me that the Prophet in his last sermon was clear; he was leaving his Sunna and the book to the people, but they add his family to it. I said, that is correct, those are the two different versions, he said, but they are wrong - I said, they are wrong to you, but not to them.  He was silently staring at me to understand that, which I appreciated.

I continued, "they think the Sunnis are wrong." He held back, and I am glad he did. The best thing is to accept the different interpretations, but not agree as a matter of principle. He countered it is the same Hadith, how can they say otherwise. It took me a while to keep his innocence intact, yet make the point.  I said I have no problem with what they believe; I don’t believe what they believe, and they don’t believe what I believe… I am not superior to them, nor they are superior to me. I am right in my way, as they are right in their ways....I asked him if he can guess where my analogy comes from? He guessed it right and I hope you do too. 

Mike Ghouse is committed to doing his individual share of building cohesive societies  and invites you to the 8th Annual Unity Day USA on Tuesday, September 11, 2012. Details at www.UnitydayUSA.com, its an event that builds bridges and uplifts every American.

Mahesh Bhatt's article about Ramzan, Ramadan

Collective force By MAHESH BHATT

Note: I don’t have the source for this article, but written exceptionally well. Mr. Mahesh Bhatt is a renowned film maker from the Bollywood film industry, he had made some super hit movies. Wiki, “Mahesh Bhatt (born on 20 September 1948), is a prominent Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Bhatt's early directional career consisted of acclaimed films, such as Arth, Saaransh, Janam, Naam,Sadak and Zakhm.

Mahesh Bhatt was born to Nanabhai Bhatt, a Hindu Brahmin and Shirin Mohammed Ali, a Muslim on 20 September 1948.^[1] Nanabhai Bhatt was a film director and producer of Hindi and Gujarati films. Mahesh Bhatt was raised by his mother alone as his parents were not married and his father also had another family. He has five siblings, four sisters and one brother Mukesh Bhatt, who is a film producer.

Collective Force.

Here is the article:

The Famous Film maker and Human Rights activist MAHESH BHATT
observes daily fast (roza) during Ramdan ? Why?

On the 14th day of Ramdan, as I drove back home to break my daily fast (Roza), a deep on my cell phone alerted me to an incoming message. This is what the message said: Hello, Mr. Bhatt, I understand through your utterances and writings that you are not a religious man and you do not believe in the efficacy of prayer. But I have now learned that you maintain Roza in the month of Ramdan. Your actions, Mr. Bhatt, bewilder the Hindus and shock the Muslims as well. May I ask why you keep Roza?

This question from a stranger made me smile but since the query was an innocent one I instinctively punched in my response, which was, Islam is a part of my heritage. I was born to a Brahmin Hindu father and a Shia Dawoodi Bohra Muslim mother.

When I was a child my mother would ensure that I fasted for at least one day in the month of Ramadan. I remember her telling me that during the month of Ramadan the Muslims say that the gates of heaven are open. This is the month when Muhammad received his first revelation. After my mother died six years ago I realized that the only way to keep her alive within me was to fast for every single day in the month of Ramadan.?

That evening when the distant Azaan was heard and the clock announced that the day's fast had come to an end, my parched body welcomed the first sip of water that I had taken in 14 hours like a desert  would welcome rain. As I bit into an overripe date I discovered that at this particular moment I was a part of this collective release which bound me together with millions of people in my country and all over the world with such unnatural force that I experienced a sense of exhilaration like I had never experienced before. And it was then that for the first time I realized what the spirit of Ramadan is really all about. When so many people together wholeheartedly share a common purpose, they are united in a way that one has to experience to truly comprehend. And the exhilaration comes from the fact that it's not about the individual alone but about all of us, together, doing something so completely. And it is perhaps this feeling of brotherhood that makes fasting in Ramadan such a unique and joyous experience.

(Mike’s Note - Two years ago, I wrote that in on any given Iftaar, i.e, breaking of fast at sunset,  at least 5 Billion dates (fruit) will be consumed, and for thirty days, 150 Billion dates - that is a lot of consumption of dates. You can also find some interesting stats. This is a conservative figure, as many a places dates are not available)

In this buy, consume and junk age where one's consciousness is being bombarded by all kinds of pleasure peddlers who market their mouth watering food and drink on the hour by the hour, it is such a relief to shut the door to them and their wares and protect your body from an over dose of pleasure. In the month of Ramadan one takes  a break from the hedonistic way of life. One gets off the treadmill of constant pleasure seeking and lives a life of austerity and simplicity. This rejuvenates the physical organism and fills one with unusual vigour. As days turn into weeks you being to realize that the human organism spends too much energy in trying to process excess food intake. The maxim that man is killed by too much food begins to make sense.

In the first few days of Ramadan, when the pangs of hunger gnaw at your insides leaving you to constantly stare at the clock, you suddenly feel as if there is an invisible umbilical cord connecting you to the sea of otherwise faceless people all over the world that often go for days without a square meal. Your apathy and indifference slowly begin to fade away and your heart begins to wake up to the all-pervasive suffering of your fellow human beings

Another thing that makes this Ramadan even more special for me is that my 13 year old daughter Alia has for some strange and unknown reason spontaneously decided to fast along with me. Like you fast for your mother, I fast for you, she said simply after I asked her what prompted this unexpected decision. No wonder a wise man once said, "What you teach you children, you also teach your grand-children." I wonder whether years ago while my mother was shaking me awake in the hush of the morning light and whispering, "Beta, time for Sehori", she knew she was also awakening her future grand-children. Isn't this at the end of it all what culture is all about?

HAPPY RAMADAN - What does God really want?

URL: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/happy-ramadan-what-does-god-really-want.html

Welcome to Ramadan, this column is about the politics, traditions and the spirit of Ramadan.

Like a mother who wants her children to live well, like a teacher who wants his students to do well, and like a chef who wants his patrons to enjoy his food…. God wants every one of his creation to live in harmony and do well.  

No one is deprived of God’s love; he has reached every human through a peace maker, messenger, prophet, reformer or simply a wise man or a good friend that brings sense to living. The creator offers a variety of guidance to the mankind, no matter where you live, the guidance is there, the guidance that leads to live in peace, and without fear of the other.

Religion is one such instrument that God guides us through, and there are many of them, at least 250 traditions including a dozen major ones. Each tradition does well for the believer in bringing peace to oneself.

Today, the one tradition I am talking about is Islam, and one of its beautiful aspects that helps build cohesive societies. 

Ramadan Mubarak

Welcome to Ramadan, it begins on Friday the 20^th of July, 2012. It is the month of fasting, a month of learning about others, connecting with others, developing empathy with fellow beings and above all reaching new heights in piety and spirituality,  Taqwa as it is called. It is to become closer to God and emulate his qualities of unselfishness, forgiveness and love. It is a month of practicing service to fellow beings and developing self discipline to learn to live they way we want, and being conscious of every moment of the day for 30 days.  

The Politics of Ramadan at Washington Post

Politics plays a crucial role in our Temples, Synagogues or Churches, Mosques are no different. A few scientifically-inclined-Muslims have adopted NASA’s calculations believed to be precise. However, four different traditions are operating concurrently; i) Strictly Calendar, ii) NASA and iii) Sighting with bare eyes and iv) sighting by others in the community.

Muslims around the world will begin fasting from Friday, July 20, 2012 and for a whole month thereafter, however, for some of them it will begin (only) if the moon is sighted. The story is same with the Jewish and other traditions that follow lunar calendar. Rosh Hashanah like Ramadan comes 11 or 12 days earlier each successive year. Continued at http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/08/the_essence_of_ramadan_is_to_become_humble.html

The Spirit of Ramadan at Huffington Post

The spiritual masters have captured the human gravity towards rituals and have molded it with the art and science of self-discipline in their respective religions. The noble purpose of each one of them was to bring a balance in our lives and a balance with our environment.

Every faith is composed of a set of unique rituals to bring discipline and peace to human life. Fasting is one of the five key rituals that Muslims around the world observe. Rituals signify the milestones of our daily life. Every significant moment of the day is a ritual. It is an unwritten way of measuring our progression, a memory pattern to bring discipline to our actions. Continued http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/spirit-of-ramadan_b_939961.html

The Traditions of Ramadan at Ramadan Exclusive

its celebration time when Muslims around the world anxiously wait for the first moon of the ninth Lunar month to appear on the sky. The families gather in their backyards, or get on the nearest hillock or climb on the top of their homes and wait for the pencil thin moon to appear on the horizon, and when it does, jubilation begins. Continued at: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2010/09/traditions-of-ramadan.html

Welcome to Ramadan at Ramadan Exclusive

Insha’Allah, the first day of Ramadan will begin on Friday, July 20, 2012 and Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, August 19, 2012 per the announcement from ISNA. Continued at: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/06/welcome-to-ramadan-2012.html

Quraan says, had God willed, he would have made every one of us alike - then he says, he chose to make us into different tribes and nations from the same couple (or the same source). Then he goes on to challenge us to know each other - he knows that our conflicts stem from not knowing each other, and living with misinformation about others,  when we know each other,  conflicts fade and solutions will emerge.

Every religion means peace and Justice and that is acceptable to God. He says, you need not worry who you are, as long as you take care of your neighbor, I will recompense you. Each one of us is responsible for our Karma.

He concludes ( Quraan 49:13) that the best among us is the one who knows each other, learns about each other and respects each other. If we take the time, to learn, every religion is out there to bring goodness to humanity.  

Be good to yourselves and every one around you. Happy Ramadan.

 Mike Ghouse is committed to nurturing the pluralistic values of Islam and welcomes everyone to explore Www.worldMuslimCongress.org and several related sites listed at: http://mikeghouse.net/Sites.MuslimsTogether.IslamTogetherFoundation.com.MikeGhouse.asp . The site www.MikeGhouse.net  lists everything about Mike.

Welcome to Ramadan 2012

AA,

Insha’Allah, the first day of Ramadan will begin on Friday, July 20, 2012 and Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, August 19, 2012 per the announcement from ISNA.

On the left Panel of this blog - http://Ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com, you can read the politics, spirituality and the traditions of Ramadan, that I have been blessed to get published in Washington Post and Huffington post News papers.

An article called "Ramadan daily" will be added to the panel on the left, listing a typical day from Sahri/ Suhoor to Iftaar and Taraweeh. Please remember we are not a monolithic lot, each denomination has a slightly different practice and we have to honor them, rather than show disrespect.

In Dallas, this will be our third year to celebrate unity with the given diversity. The Muslims who are not stuck up, and are above the denominations are asked to do the Iftaar in a Masjid a day or welcome to join me and ride with me to different Masajid’s. A full Iftaar schedule will also be published. We have about 30 in the area, and Insha Allah, we will do most of them. The Masajid’s include Ahmadiyya, Bohra, Ismaili, Shia, Sufi, Sunni, WD Muhammad and other traditions. 

We kiss ass with every religious traditions and invite Jews, Christians and others to do the Iftaar, but when it comes to fellow Muslims, we tend to be petty and small. We need to grow up and show the bigness of our heart to all; Muslims and non Muslims alike. 

Each one can prepare his or her own schedule, but I will prepare one for the full month and invite everyone to join me.  Change will come when we mean it and take the action - The change is for Muslims to get along and show solidarity with each other for doing good things, despite the differences. If we cannot do it, here, then don’t expect this to happen elsewhere in the world.

Jazak Allah Khair

Mike Ghouse

I am committed to do my individual share of building cohesive Muslim societies. What is good for Muslims has got to be good for others and vice-versa to sustain it. The role of a Muslim is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, you will find that in almost every act of the prophet. Check out www.TheGhousediary.com for my daily articles or other blogs and sites listed there.  Thank you.

EID MUBARAK

AA;
Eid Mubarak

We are not a monolithic lot, we are different and we must learn to accept and respect every tradition without denigration - Eid is a joyous moment and not the time to criticize others for celebrating the Eid on a different day. I hope the article Politics of Ramadan is enlightening

I am blessed to have written nearly 40 articles on Ramadan and have visited mosque of just about every denomination of Muslims including the Beit al Muqadas and Al-Aqsa Mosques last year. Much earlier I have prayed at both Madinah and Makkah. It was a pleasure to do the Iftaar with Muslims from Ahmadiyya, Bohra, Ismaili, Sufi, Shia, Sunni, WD Muhammad and Muslims of every race, ethnicity and many cultures.
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Spirit of Ramadan: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/spirit-of-ramadan_b_939961.html
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Politics of Ramadan: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/08/politics-of-ramadan-on-moon-sighting.html
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Rituals of Ramadan:   http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2010/09/traditions-of-ramadan.html  
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Insha Allah, next Ramadan, I will make a movie on our diversity and welcome ideas and facilitations from you. You can share your comment at the end of this article at:  http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/08/eid-mubarak.html

Jazak Allah Khair

Mike Ghouse
Muslims Together
www.IslamTogetherFoundation.com
www.MikeGhouse.net

The Spirit of Ramadan - Eid Mubarak

Rituals signify the mile stones of our daily life. Every significant moment of the day is a ritual. It is an unwritten way of measuring our progression; a memory pattern to bring discipline to our actions.

From the moment we are born to the last rites of our life and every moment in-between is laden with rituals, though some of us may deny it. Whether we go to the gym, eat our food; go to sleep, wear clothes, drive some place, in our intimate moments, or picking that phone up, we follow rituals.

Discipline is necessary to do things on time, managing personal relationships, driving to a destination or keeping within budget to achieve the goals; the result is worth the discipline to most people. When joyous, whether we are a theist or not, we have to express that sentiment, otherwise a sense of incompleteness lingers in our hearts.
The Spiritual masters have captured the human gravity for rituals and have molded it with the art and science of self-discipline in their respective religion. The noble purpose of each one of them was to bring a balance in our lives and a balance with things that surround us; life and environment.

The Spirit;

Every faith is composed of a set of unique rituals to bring discipline and peace to human life. Fasting is one of the five key rituals that Muslims around the world observe.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is generally observed with a ritual precision; it is an annual training or a refresher. It requires one to abstain from food, drink, intimacy, ill will, ill talk, ill actions or any temptations from dawn to dusk, every day for a month. One has to rise above his or her baser desires. Islam gifts this month to its followers to inculcate discipline to bring moderation in their daily lives. Twenty five hundred years ago, Buddha, the enlightened one taught that human suffering is caused by unrestrained desire to own and had recommended a middle path, and the same recommendation was made by Prophet Muhammad fourteen hundred years ago.

Although Ramadan is popularly known in the West for its culinary delicacies and fancy Iftaar (ceremonial breaking of fast at sun down), the spirit and intent of Ramadan lies in a human transformation in a month long inner spiritual journey of finding oneself in tune with spirituality.

God has no need for the hunger or thirst of someone who hurts others, violates their dignity or usurps their rights, said Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The fasting of the stomach must be matched by the fasting of the limbs. The eyes, ears, tongue, hands and feet all have their respective fasts to undergo. The tongue's temptations, for example - lies, backbiting, slander, vulgarity and senseless argumentation - must be challenged and curbed to maintain the integrity of the fast.

Consciousness of behavior and vigilance over action are the most profound dimensions of fasting: the fasting of the heart focuses on the attachment to the divine. That is when Ramadan really becomes a source of peace and solace, just as Christmas goes beyond the rituals to bring forth kindness, charity and caring.

True fasting is self-purification; and from this, a rich inner life that bring about values such as justice, generosity, patience, kindness, forgiveness, mercy and empathy - values that are indispensable for the success of the community.

Knowing about hunger is different from knowing hunger. Empathy is not an intellectual equation; it is a human experience. Our hardness of heart often springs from our distance from the human condition of others. The poor, sick, disenfranchised, oppressed - we rarely walk a mile in their shoes, not even a few steps. "Rest assured," cautioned one teacher, "if you do not taste what it feels like to be hungry, you will not care for those who are."

For fasting to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims and must extend to forging a common humanity with others. Fasting is meant to impart a sense of what it means to be truly human, and its universality is reflected by its observance in Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other faiths.

Ramadan will come and go with such stealth that we cannot but be reminded of our mortality. What is it that we value and why? Habits, customs, even obsessive behavior like smoking can be curtailed with relative ease in the face of a higher calling.

More:
Politics of Ramadan - http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/08/politics-of-ramadan-on-moon-sighting.html
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Rituals of Ramadan - http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2010/09/traditions-of-ramadan.html

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Spirit of Ramadan http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/08/spirit-of-ramadan-eid-mubarak.html  
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Mike Ghouse is President of America Together foundation and is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, Justice and Peace. He is available to speak at your place of worship, work, school, college, seminars and conferences. Mike's work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ and his current writings at www.TheGhousediary.com

Day 19 of Ramadan 2011

Day 19 of Ramadan 2011 at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church

http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-19-of-ramadan-2011.html

Friday, August 19, 2011 | Ramadan 19, 1432

Terminology: At the bottom of this write up.

Church:  Lovers Lane United Methodist Church, Dallas
Sahri (Pre-dawn meal at home): Cereal with Yogurt
Iftaar (refreshments): Straight Dinner
Iftaar (Dinner): Salad, Rice, Non-spicy stew like lamb, Dolma (Grape leaf rolls stuffed with minced meat and rice) and Baklava for dessert.   
Culture: Interfaith Dinner- Christians and mainly Turkish Muslims, perhaps I was the only Subcontinentan there.

PURPOSE: To share and appreciate the diversity within Islam.

THE PLAN: Visit a mosque a day and be with every denomination including: Ahmadiyya, Bohra, Ismaili, Shia, Sufi, Sunni, Warith Deen Muhammad, Wahabbi and others. You are welcome to join me or experience it yourselves, we have to learn to respect the differences and appreciate the uniqueness of each tradition. God says the best among you is the one who knows each other for peaceful co-existence.

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If you think of sharing your own Ramadan experience, time is to start now.

 

The Dallas Islamic Center, an organization supported by Fateh Gulen, a Turkish Muslim reformer is doing a great job in the Islamic theme of “knowing each other” to create a better world. http://www.dallasislamiccenter.org/

A few pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157627477918142/show/



Hamidullah, Imam Yesil
and Mike Ghouse

Over the years they have done a fabulous job of reaching out to neighbors, conducting interfaith dialogue, dinners and classes on Quraan. I am yet to visit their center in Richardson and now I have the incentive to really be a tiny part of the good work they do. I discovered today that Imam Nihat Yesil and I have met some 4 or 5 years ago, fortunately both of us remembered my effort to connect him with Dr Kavakci, another Turkish Imam whom I brag about.

Now this is a different experience altogether for Muslims.
 

About 250 people attended the dinner event, mostly the guests were the congregation of the United Methodist Church and some 50 Turkish Muslims and few others including me, perhaps the only one from the subcontinent ethnicity.

Yasin moderated the event, he was amazing when he walked up on the stage and shared the three things Pastor Dr. Copeland had talked about in their meeting originally at the Dallas Islamic Center. (OMG, I had that last night, and I have lost it this morning). I will add back if it comes to the mind.

Hamidullah, a PhD student from Afghanistan opened the evening with Azaan. I wish I had recorded it, it was simply beautiful. It is an art in how you call the prayers in a melodious voice and I loved ever moment of it.

Ok here is a major difference in pronunciation. Much of the world calls the prayer call “Azaan” including Turkey, Iran, the Central Asian Muslims, the Subcontinentian Muslim and elsewhere in Philippines and Indonesia. Whereas the Arabic speaking people call it “Adaan”.  The pronunciation of the word “Ramadan” in Arabic is “Ramzaan” in most of the world.  All the speakers were toggling from one pronunciation to the other as most Americans respond to the word Ramadan rather than Ramzaan.

Pastor Copeland gave a beautiful sermon relating to the hospitality of Abraham, the fountain head for the three religions. It was that hospitality we are carrying forward, to share a meal with others. He mentioned that most of the congregants may have Google Ramadan before entering the hall and he shared the basics with the friends.

The traditional breaking of the fast followed by Prayers and dinner was modified to suit the audience, or perhaps that is the Turkish tradition. If you know about it please share and I will make an effort to learn about it. I was thrilled to find myself not knowing the tradition, and it made sense for me to know about the others.  Indeed, I am driven by working and developing cohesive societies, and the emphasis in Quraan to know each other to create a better world excites me.

Imam Nihat Yesil, like Imam Dr. Kavakci, breaks the stereotyping of Muslims about their appearance.  He did not have a beard nor wore a Muslim garb (Juan William, there is no such thing) or the cap.  He wore a suit. Muslims are not a monolithic lot, each one is different with different traditions and practices, each costume is beautiful to the person who wears it and we cannot but appreciate the uniqueness. The year 2010 witnessed a dramatic change in Muslim presence in the media. Till them, a typical Muslim who spoke on national TV wore a beard and a cap as it had become a trade mark. 201o changed it all, Bill OReilly brought in Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, Harris Zafar and Sean Hannity pulled me in and you saw Raza Aslan on CNN and ABC, NBC pulled in Irshad Manji, Asra Nomani and whole new breed of Muslims were added to the Muslim spectrum which truly represented the diversity in Islam.  We need more of our young men and women to pursue a career in Journalism and add the accentless category to the spectrum.

Imam Nihat Yesil shared Rumi’s story about humility, how he met a pastor in the market place and bowed to him for his knowledge and did not want to lose the humility. I am losing my mind ascribing the following story to either moderator Yasin or Imam Yesil. It’s about the responsibility to reach out to the neighbors. The neighbors were defined by 4o homes around you and one must reach out to them. The other versions are 7 neighbors around you, and then the circle expands to the town, region, and the whole wide world. He was sharing the origins of Adan to call for prayers to reach the neighborhood and the whole town… and added with a chuckle that if KERA radio relays the Adan, the entire listenership would become our neighbors.

I was thrilled when they showed the translation of the Adan on the big screen, something I had always wanted to do and have debated extensively on the content and the meaning of it. The non-Muslims who object to this, really would appreciate if they really know the meaning of it.

Enjoy this beautiful Adan, there are plenty on YouTube, I picked this one as it shows beautiful mosques around the world, it is a delight to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUHDYlJHaOQ&feature=related

Here it is:

4x	الله أكبر	Allahu Akbar = God is Greatest
2x	أشهد أن لا اله إلا الله	Ash-hadu al-la ilaha illa llah = I bear witness that there is no God except the One God3	.
2x	أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله	Ash-hadu anna Muħammadan rasulullah = I bear witness that Muhammad is God's Messenger
2x	حي على الصلاة	Ħayya 'ala-salah = Come to salat (prayer, worship)
2x	حي على الفلاح	Ħayya 'ala 'l-falaħ = Come to success
2x	الله أكبر	Allāhu akbar = God is Greatest
1x	لا إله إلا الله	La ilaha illallah = There is no god except Allah.

One of the many purposes for me to visit different Mosques and do my Iftaar is to open up myself and share the experience.  We have to learn to accept the diversity, no one worships in a weird way, that language needs to be respectfully replaced with … each one of us has our own unique way and each should be respected. To paraphrase what Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) would have advised “Respect your brother or sister as you respect yourselves”. That is the key to successful communities.

I pray that in this holy month of Ramadan we Muslim shed our biases and believe that God alone can judge what is in one’s heart; and let’s not burden ourselves with misunderstandings and myths about others. Let everyone live their life as they wish and let’s make an effort to live a regret free life in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer and a thinker nurturing the pluralistic values of Islam. More at: http://www.mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp
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MESSAGE: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/07/ramadan-message.html
POLITICS OF RAMADAN: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2011/08/politics-of-ramadan-on-moon-sighting.html

Coming up – Rituals of Ramadan and Spirit of Ramadan
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TERMS:

Sahri - Pre-Dawn meal before early Morning Prayer (fajr).
Iftaar - Sunset Meal as a conclusion of the fast.

Sawm - fasting from sunrise to sunset - No food, no water, no nothing and no intake of any food or water. More critically it is a practice to abstain from ill-will, malice, anger, temptations and human desires. Don't hear, see, speak or act less than goodness.

Rituals - There are several variations in rituals and they vary from place to place. In Bangalore where I am from, the whole family gets up early around 4:00 AM and together cook extensive meals for Sahri /Suhoor, while others choose to cook earlier night and just warm it up and eat in the morning. The Iftaar is done elaborately at mosques, homes or other gatherings where friends from different faiths are invited to break bread and nurture goodwill.

Prayers - The ritual Muslim prayers involve several postures... I will update the details before the end of Ramadan.