Fears for Gaza may take some joy from Ramadan observation, but will make spiritual component stronger

Though Mahboob Akhter’s grandchildren are not of the age of people who traditionally fast during Ramadan, they’ve decided to try it as a way to sense what other Muslim children who live in Gaza are feeling, their grandfather said.

Ramadan is a monthlong holy period about to start during which Muslims around the world reflect on God’s blessings through intense prayer and dawn-to-dusk fasting. Typically, the night meal after sunset is a time for families and friends to gather, but in light of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the resulting humanitarian crisis Palestinians in the besieged Gaza territory are experiencing, several Southern California Muslims said their observances will be more subdued, making gathering more spiritual than festive.

“There is a serious impact that the whole world is feeling,” said Akhter, co-chair of the community engagement team for the Orange County Islamic Foundation in Mission Viejo, adding that his grandchildren have been paying close attention to the war.

“Because of what is going on,” he said, “our happiness is very tempered.”

Muslims forgo food and liquids between sunrise and sunset, using the time to reflect on what they’ve been given and to be thankful for that by practicing moderation, he said. Fasting helps Muslims get closer to God and feel what it is like to be deprived of his blessings.

“It’s a time when you reflect on how to control your emotions like anger and happiness,” Akhter said. “One gets to practice the real aspects of humanity, and fasting helps a person to become more moderate.”

Ramadan will be especially emotionally difficult for people in Southern California who have relatives living in Gaza where Palestinians have been left without food, water and medical supplies amid the fighting, said Akhter, adding many also grieve lost relatives. “And, some people like me have friends I don’t hear from. It affects all of us directly and indirectly. The joy isn’t there; you do the ritual and obligation, but you don’t celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and fasting.”

During Ramadan, prayers are made five times a day starting before dawn – Akhter said many prayers now will be for those who have died and those who remain in danger.

“We will also pray for people in leadership that God gives them the guidance to be just,” he said. “If you’re not just, you cannot expect peace.”

Kawa Shwaish, president of the board of the Islamic Community Center of Redlands, said the war has unified the Muslim community and said he expects there will be more people visiting the mosque. The tradition of community dinners on Fridays and Saturdays will continue and an inter-faith, inter-city dinner is planned for March 24.

“When events like this happen, they actually unify the community more,” Shwaish said, and it’s been “very refreshing to see the support that we have received from the community at large.”

Dr. Ahmed Soboh, director of the Islamic Center of Yorba Linda and part of the Islamic Shura Council, the umbrella for mosques in Southern California, said people “want to connect more with their faith and mobilize the community more to be active” and because of that, the spiritual component of this Ramadan “will be much stronger” for many.

He expects to see more attendance in the mosques, more intense prayer and a greater focus on charity and donations to help the people in war-torn Gaza.

Instead of coming to the mosque for just half an hour for the prayers, Soboh said he expects people will linger, spend more time talking with each other, sharing stories of friends and relatives they worry about in Gaza, and drawing comfort from being together.

“The big parties aren’t going to happen; it won’t be festive and lavish,” he said.  “People will want to spend more time with God and giving more charity to support the people of Gaza.”

Spirituals and acts of worship during Ramadan include giving charity, attending scripture learning and reading gatherings, and staying up late at night saying prayers.

“These usually increase in Ramadan for everyone,” Soboh said. “And, because of the painful situation in Gaza, we will see more people putting more time and effort into it than in previous years. Many will find it more meaningful to serve others who are in need, so we’ll see higher participation in humanitarian day events.”

Typically, people observing Ramadan purchase new clothes to celebrate the end of fasting, but this year, he said many will direct that money instead to charity groups providing aid in Gaza where the United Nations has warned about the potential for famine.

Soboh is from Bethlehem and still has many relatives there. Ramadan will be more difficult for them, he said, and even harder for those living in the West Bank.

“Even though there are no bombs like in Gaza, people are definitely feeling it,” he said of feedback he’s gotten from his own relatives. “It’s a tense, very depressing situation seeing brethren killed on the West Bank.”

Soboh said he will spend Ramadan visiting mosques around the region and speaking on topics such as “how to be more active to fix the situation in Gaza, what we can do as American Muslims and how to transfer the spiritual energy of Ramadan into activism after Ramadan.”

Examples of activism in the Muslim community come in many forms, he said, including volunteering at mosques or other community events. Soboh said it can also mean political involvement by attending city council meetings, meeting with elected officials, or supporting campaigns that promote causes dear to the community.

“It could also inspire people to start a new project or organization that will fill a void or tackle an issue that is not tackled by an existing organization,” Soboh said. “There are so many forms of activism that could be seen as the spiritual result of Ramadan.”

Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said his wife is from Gaza, and 150 of her relatives have been killed.

“We are devastated,” he said. “For so many of us, we can’t believe it and can’t talk about it. For those there, they are facing devastation on their doorstep and are asking God to save them and take them from their miserable situation.”

He, too, agrees the spiritual component of Ramadan will be the focus throughout the hundreds of mosques in Southern California.

For Al-Marayati, he will attend dinners throughout the month, but said he and his wife prefer staying at home.

“The most spiritual part for me is reading the Quran every morning,” he said. “I feel God is speaking directly to me.”

Meanwhile, Akhter’s grandchildren, Adam, 12, and Nour, 11, are preparing for their fasting experience.

“They’re curious about what (it) will be like,” Akhter said. “They are very worried about the kids – and all people – in Gaza. Nour asked me a very interesting question. ‘President Biden is the most powerful person in the world. Why can’t he stop the war?’”

Staff writer Sarah Hofmann contributed to this report.

Source: Orange County Register