In Focus: A Multicultural Ramadan

A group of young girls break fast before saying prayers at the American Muslim Union annual Ramadan dinner at Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, New Jersey (© AP Images)

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.

In a world where ethnic and religious conflict permeates the news cycle, the month of Ramadan serves as a positive reminder of the diversity and unity that the religion of Islam embodies. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, the Ramadan of my youth was always an excuse for me to hang out with friends during the daily breaking of the fast and nightly prayers. I remember us all sneaking away from the night prayers to play football. Although we should have stayed in the mosque, the nights we hung out during Ramadan turned out to have an equally valuable lesson.

Kids from all different backgrounds - Pakistani, Somali, Bengali, Arab - would join us in our rebellious football games, but we didn't really notice the diversity that surrounded us. We cared more for who could throw the ball best rather than whose skin color looked different. Unaware of the important lesson, many of the elders at the mosque observed our interactions. Today, our mosque celebrates ethnic diversity, both in leadership of our mosque as well as in the lines of our prayer service. Many have pointed to the bonds my friends and I had as the catalyst to which shaped the culture of the mosque today.

I am happy to see those same pluralistic values reflected in my Ramadan experience at college. At Stanford, our Muslim student groups put on massive breaking-of-the-fast ceremonies every night, followed by nightly prayers. These gatherings have students from every corner of the world, each with their own story. Many of these students stated that they had come from countries with homogenous religious cultures. Studying in America forced them to interact with people from various different faiths. This destroyed former perceptions they held but still strengthened their own beliefs, as they had to reflect on their religious communities.

Yet despite these differences, the international students indicated that no matter how far away they felt from family, 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.

This coming Ramadan I will be in Pakistan. Although both my parents are from Pakistan, I never spent a Ramadan there, and I look forward to comparing my experience between Pakistan and America. Although it will be different, I am sure that the practices and traditions will be very similar, serving as a reminder to all Muslims of the powerful tradition we share. I pray that this reminder of unity and pluralism embodied in the month of Ramadan will extend beyond, providing a positive force to combat that which ails our world.

Source: America.gov

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Last updated: August 7, 2009