Ramadan

[Whitedobelover]

for those of you who dont know i am muslim... i am starting ramadan tomorrow and i will be going thru 28-29 days of fasting from dawn till dusk with no food or water... i am here this month for anyone who wants to talk about islam and ask questions or about ramadan itself... hugs to all and may the peace and blessings of GOD be with you.

 

[Saje]

I've been assigned to write a story about ramadan. Our town has the second oldest mosque in Canada - or so I've been told. So there are a lot of muslims in the community. Any pointers on how to make my story more interesting would be great!

 

[Whitedobelover]

well depends you can get personal interviews... or even visit the mosque and talk to the sheikh for personal interview... plus you want to include facts that no one else knows or you think that people misinterpret... make sure you use quranic facts about the mosque...

detailed discriptions inside and out... about what people do in the mosque during ramadan... including iftar (breaking of fast), taraweeah (prayer) Jumah on fridays... the last ten days and how significant those are... also what we do during the day while we are fasting, what we do during the night. how we interact during ramadan with others in our ummah (community)... what parts of the quran we read each day... this type of thing...

 

[Saje]

Excellent! Those are great tips. Every year someone writes a story on ramadan I'm sure so I don't want mine to be the same old. You've given me some good ideas of questions to ask. I'm definitely going to go there and talk to the sheik or whoever is there. Are they generally quite open? Are there any ceremonies which would be good chance for a photo?

 

[Whitedobelover]

well... they wont allow photos in the mosque but i can get you some if you like ... when is it due?

 

[Saje]

hmmm well by the weekend but I don't know if we'd print them if they weren't local. I'll ask. d

 

[bubbatd]

Do I wish you Happy Holidays or what ??? It's also the Jewish New Years..so the same to you all. I admire your fasting.

 

[Whitedobelover]

lol it is called ramadan mubarak... which means happy ramadan basically... thank you so much

 

[Whitedobelover]

please do... because they may or maynot let you take them but i can get some of the local mosque in your area what is the name of it ill find it and see what i can come up with it..

 

[Saje]

thanks.

are there ceremonies or celebrations or anything like that?

 

[Whitedobelover]

yes there are... everyday there is breaking of the fast which is kinda like a celebration it is called iftar.... and we eat and have a good time then pray.... at the end the day after ramadan we have a huge feast and have a party..... and we have taraweeah prayers everyday at the breaking of the fast

 

[Saje]

that would be neat to see.

 

[Whitedobelover]

you can go watch just ask for a scarf out of respect

 

[Saje]

maybe I'll see if I can find a family that has recently immigrated and talk to them (if possible) about ramadan. see if things are different...

 

[Whitedobelover]

cool that is cool they can really tell you from a foriegners point of view... i can only give you a muslim americans point aview..

 

[Saje]

yeah, hopefully I can find someone!

 

[Renee750il]

Sounds like a comparison/contrast piece in the works there, Saje!

I expect a copy!

Whitedobe, I for one would love to read something like a daily journal of your time of Ramadan. I'm sure there must be a few Muslims here where I live, but I'm sure they are very, very circumspect about their visibility as this isn't the most er, 'enlightened' or tolerant part of the world down here . . . I'll never forget the day I helped an elderly couple find some things in WalMart that were on a high shelf. We talked for a few moments and the man and I traded stories about roses. He commented as we parted that I was such a nice young lady, I must be a good Baptist girl. You should have seen his face when I told him that no, I actually followed the path of the Buddha . . . He looked shocked, then he told me I wasn't at all what his preacher said Buddhists were like and he was going to tell the preacher he was just wrong

 

[Whitedobelover]

i tell ya what renee i will keep a diary this ramadan and post it for you all to see what i go thru... i think buddha is awesome i love buddhists... and i will post a diary everyday... for you all at the end of the day... hugs renee if you have a questoin let me know..

 

[nedim]

Sretan Ramadan Liz!

 

[Saje]

i tell ya what renee i will keep a diary this ramadan and post it for you all to see what i go thru... i think buddha is awesome i love buddhists... and i will post a diary everyday... for you all at the end of the day... hugs renee if you have a questoin let me know..

Good idea! I look forward to it.