Ramadan FAQ 2011
The Ramadan FAQ
Q: So it's Ramadan. What is Ramadan anyway?
Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims. It's a period of 28-30 days (the whole month) during which able-bodied Muslims fast from sun up to sun down.
Because the Islamic calendar is a non-self-correcting* lunar calendar, every (Western) year Ramadan falls about 12 days earlier, moving backwards through the calendar.
*The Jewish calendar which is also lunar has a way to self-correct every few years so that holidays move around but always stay in the same relative time period. For example, Channukah always falls somewhere around mid- to late- December hence gets associated with Christmas, much to the chagrin of many Jews. The Islamic calendar doesn't self-correct, so the Islamic months keep moving backwards in relation to the Gregorian (Western) calendar.
Q: What are the dates of Ramadan this year by the Gregorian calendar?
This year, Ramadan is August 1-August 29.
Q: What's involved in fasting? Can you drink water?
Islamic fasting means no food, no water, no smoking and no sex. However, fasting is only between sun up and sun down. You can do any of those things at night/early in the morning.
Q: Isn't that unhealthy?
It would be unhealthy if it were 24 hours a day, for a month. Because it's only during daylight hours, it's actually fine. This year, Muslims simply eat an extra-early breakfast and a late dinner. Some people stay up late and eat again. Muslims are not really missing a lot of meals.
Skipping water for daylight hours would be unhealthy if someone were doing heavy labor. It's important to avoid that during those hours. In Muslim-dominated countries, work and education schedules work around fasting, which makes it easier. In places like the U.S., Muslims will be trying to work fasting around work and school hours that are fixed. This is definitely more challenging, but not impossible.
Skipping water would be unhealthy if someone were seriously dehydrated to start with...but if someone were dehydrated, they wouldn't be able-bodied and wouldn't need to fast. The fast should not endanger health.
(Skipping smoking is not ever unhealthy. Ahem.)
Q: What if you have to take medicine?
If a Muslim has medicine to take once a day, he or she might take it before sun up or after sun down. I take medication every morning, so I just take it before I start fasting. If a person needed to take medicine during the day, then their health needs would over-ride the need to fast and they wouldn't have to fast.
Q: Do kids have to fast?
No! Kids are not required to fast. There are some different views on precisely what age young people should start fasting-most people say puberty, but "puberty" is ill-defined. Many older kids do partial-day fasts until they are "old enough" to fast the whole day.
Q: Who else is "excused" from fasting?
I read a great explanation of who is "excused," once:
If you can fast without it causing harm or being hard, you should.
If you can fast without harm, but it will be hard, you *may* choose not to fast.
If you can't fast without harm, you *can not* fast.
This is the best, clearest explanation I've ever heard.
To elaborate on the specifics that most Muslims know, people who are "excused" include:
"Sick" includes anyone who can not fast for chronic health or wellness reasons. That includes people suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Although they are not "sick"in the usual sense, fasting would be more harmful than beneficial to their overall health and well-being.
Q: Is Ramadan all about fasting?
No. Ramadan is a very spiritual time. A lot of focus is on prayer, brotherhood and peace. For example, if people are confrontational, a Muslim is encouraged to say "I am fasting" and offer peace.
It is also a time of being very aware of the physical trials of poverty. Many feel that part of the point of Ramadan is to know what it feels like to go without food, not just once but every day. It gives a whole new perspective on extreme poverty. It's also an experience that is intended to erase lines that divide people-such as class and race-because everyone is united in the shared experience of fasting.
Q: Are there special Ramadan prayers?
Many Muslims stay up late at night praying a special prayer called "Tarawih." In mosques, it can go on for hours.
The holiest night of the year, the Night of Power (Lailat ul-Qadr), is towards the end of the month. The exact day is unclear, but it is generally celebrated the eve of the 27th day of Ramadan. Some believe the exact date was left deliberately unclear so that people would spend the entire last ten days treating each day as if it could be the most holy.
Q: Should I not eat in front of someone who's fasting?
You might not want to make a big thing of eating, out of consideration. Mostly, though, we're used to it, especially in the U.S. In Muslim-dominated countries it's considered inappropriate to eat in public during Ramadan.
Q: What are you supposed to say to Muslims in Ramadan? Is it "Happy Ramadan"? Or "I'm so sorry you're starving..."
Yes, it is Happy Ramadan. It's a very festive time (at least in the evening)! You could also say Ramadan Mubarek (RAH-muh-dahn moo-BAR-ik) or Ramadan Mabruk (RAH-muh-dahn ma-BREWK), in Arabic.)
On the day before the officially designated Night of Power, you can say "Happy Lailat ul-Qadr." Since the official Night of Power is marked on the 27th, the good wishes would be offered on the 26th of Ramadan (and conveniently this year that is the 26th of August).
Q: If I want to show respect for, or be helpful to, someone who's fasting, what are some ways to do that?
There is no one right way to be supportive of all Muslims during Ramadan, however here are some ideas:
Q: If I know someone who says s/he's Muslim and but s/he's not fasting, does that mean s/he's not really Muslim? Should I assume s/he's not religious?
No. S/he could be sick or need to take medicine or have some other physical reason why s/he can't fast. If it's a female-bodied person, s/he could be mentstruating or post-partum or breast-feeding. A person could also be having a spiritual struggle with fasting. Long story short: It's no one's place to judge.
If you are friends with someone who is not fasting at all for the whole month, it's not usually considered rude to ask why they don't fast (if it's out of curiosity, not judgment). If you just notice it on a single day, it usually is not appropriate to ask, because the answer could be something like "I'm bleeding" or "I had really bad diarrhea this morning and was worried about getting dehydrated." Many of us don't care to share that information with every random curious person.
Q: Are there ways to support Muslims who are not fasting?
Again, it depends on the person and your relationship with him or her. Here are some general ideas:
Iftar can be anything but often starts with three small sips of water, and includes dates and milk (and more water). It's often culture-specific, by which I mean that it depends on a person's national, familial and personal traditions.
Think of it this way: there are different traditional stuffings (or dressings) for Thanksgiving turkeys. In the South, I knew many people who swore by cornbread stuffing, while in New England, it's not Thanksgiving without sage and onion stuffing... and in other countries, the idea of stuffing poultry with bread of any kind is considered nothing short of bizarre.
In Morocco, where I lived for several years, they traditionally break fasting with Harira (a minestrone-like soup), shebakkia (honey-soaked sesame cookies--we don't have anything like them here in the U.S.), dates, milk, hard-boiled eggs, bread with butter, cheese or jam. And coffee. (For the caffeine-deprived, coffee is crucial!) Evening meals, contrary to what you might think, tend not to be huge gorge-fests. After fasting, you find you get full fast. I tend to want a large variety of things, but in small quantities, after fasting.
For Sohur, since it's very early in the morning (currently before 3am), many people go back to sleep after eating. It's common to eat high-protein and high-fat but light foods: yogurt, more hard-boiled eggs, cheese. The only unusual thing about sohur is that many stay away from sweet things because the last thing you need when fasting is a sugar crash at 8 a.m.
Q: If one were to visit friends observing Ramadan for a few days, what would be appropriate to bring? Are there treats for early breakfast or late dinner that would be especially seasonal?
Treats are totally personal taste. What we eat for the two main meals is also a question of personal taste...and that taste may vary considerably from day to day, depending on what the person became fixated on while hungry.
Q: Do you give presents for Ramadan?
Generally, no. Sometimes people give presents at the end of Ramadan, for the holiday Eid al-Fitr.
Q: Someone else I know said Ramadan starts (or ends) a different day from what you said. Why is that?
Ramadan begins with the sighting of the "new moon." For Islamic purposes, the "new moon" is the first time there is a sliver of waxing moon which is visible after sunset. In some places this is not visible on the same day as in other places, a fact which could lead to a lot of confusion.
There are two main schools of thought about this. One says Ramadan starts when the moon is (or can be) sighted where you are. The other says that Ramadan begins at the same time everywhere, regardless of sighting of the moon. I agree with the latter school of thought, for a number of reasons from the pragmatic (How confusing would it be if November started on one day in America, and a different day in London, and yet another day in Australia? It would be chaos!) to the spiritual (If Ramadan is about spiritual community, doesn't it make sense that the entire Islamic world fasts together?).
Every year, ISNA (the Islamic Society of North America) issues a statement that says Ramadan has started in North America; sometimes it is in synch with other places in the world, sometimes not. A few years ago, they adopted a policy of using astronomic calculations to determine when the month would start and end. A lot of other Islamic organizations world-wide are using this method, as well. For me, and most Muslims around the world, Ramadan starts August 1 and should end August 29. The following day, a new Islamic month begins-and therefore: it is the EID!
Q: What's an Eid? (And how do you pronounce that anyway?)
Eid means "Feast" or "Holiday" in Arabic. Eid is sometimes written: 'Eed or 'Eid. It starts off with a sound we don't have in English, but just saying "EEd" works fine.
There are two official Eids recognized by all Muslims each year.
You can say "Happy Eid" or "Eid Mubarek" for either of the Eids.
There are other significant holidays observed by some Muslims. They include Islamic New Year, the fast of Ashura and the Prophet Muhammed's birthday.
Q: What's this business about an "Eid Bunny"?
It's a joke in my family. When one of the Eids fell at the same time as Easter, one year, I was kidding with my kids about the Eid Bunny bringing them presents. So now we have an ongoing family tradition/joke about the "Eid Bunny." If you mention this to any other Muslim, they'll look at you like you're nuts.
(We also have a weird family tradition about the "Toy Soldier" who sprinkles lights on houses during the winter Sparkly Season. Just chalk it up to my eccentricity.)
Q: So you're Muslim? (or "But you don't look Muslim!")
I'm an American-born convert of mostly European descent. I was raised Christian and converted to Islam when I was 15, so that's been my primary faith practice for a long time. I was, at one point, pretty conservative and dogmatic. Over time (and with the wisdom of passing years, I like to think) my views have been refined. I now consider myself a progressive Muslim. Personally, I do follow a lot of the main practice of the faith (e.g. I pray 5 times a day and I fast) but I definitely don't buy into any of the homophobic and misogynistic dogma some people associate with Islam.
Q: What is a progressive Muslim?
Progressive Muslims come in many stripes. The progressive Muslim movement is not a new "sect" but rather an ideological perspective. Progressive Muslims may identify as Sunni, Shi'a, Sufi, Ismaili or something else (though, significantly, some simply identify as "Muslim" and eschew sectarian labels). They may be U.S.-born or hail from another part of the world. They may embrace or reject a variety of things they (or others) associate with traditional practices of Islam.
There are a number of resources out there about Progressive Muslims, such as the book Progressive Muslims, edited by Omid Safi, and online at Muslims for Progressive Values, Progressive Islam (with its hilarious subtitle "Sheep are for Eid!"). There's also information on Wikipedia (of course) under the title Liberal Movements Within Islam.
Another excellent new book-of particular interest to LGBTQ readers-by progressive Muslim scholar, Dr. Scott Kugle, is Homosexuality in Islam: Islamic Reflection on Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Muslims.
Q: Islam and terrorism is linked in a lot of minds. What's up with that?
Being Muslim definitely does not make me a terrorist or lead me to support terrorism. Islam (by which I mean the Qur'an and reputable accounts of how the Prophet Muhammad lived his understanding of the faith) does not allow for killing civilians (or women and children), even in a time of war. Any kind of attack that involves suicide is also counter to Islam, since suicide for any reason is prohibited by the Prophet Muhammad's teachings. Some contemporary Muslims do try to justify things like suicide bombings, but it is my belief that these arguments are politically motivated-not spiritual. They get pretty far away from the spirit of Islam, which for most Muslims is a spirit of peace.
Q: There was an Associated Press article one year that said it's more likely we'll have terrorist attacks during Ramadan, because it's a significant time of year for "Muslim" terrorists. Is that true?
Well, since the "Muslim" terrorists consider themselves Muslim, Ramadan is an important time for them. However, there is definitely no Islamically-sound reason to wage war in Ramadan. Even a justified war (i.e. one of self-defense) should wait until Ramadan is over. (And since there is no justification, ever, for terrorism...)
That said, these people have shown themselves to operate on one principle and one alone: expedience. If they have the opportunity, they'll take it. They are not really concerned with anniversaries, marking high holy days, etc. They are opportunists.
So, no, I'd say we're no more or less likely to have more terrorist attacks right now.
Q: Is there a "short story" of what Ramadan is "about" historically or how it originated, similar to the Christmas story about the birth of Jesus?
The super short story:
Muslims believe the Qur'an began to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during the month of Ramadan. The holiness of the month is honored by fasting and increased prayer.
The slightly longer story:
Ramadan is a month of the Islamic calendar, so in and of itself, it doesn't have a "story" any more than the month of December has a "story." During Ramadan one year, Muhammad went on a meditative retreat up to a cave in the mountains (which was not unusual for him) and found he was being addressed by a creature who reappeared in every direction he turned. This creature was (believed to be) the angel Gabriel. The angel commanded "Read!" (Iqraa, in Arabic) and he said he could not read (he was illiterate). The angel again commanded him to read and Muhammad said he could not. This exchange continued until Muhammad said "What should I read?"
The command "Read!" (Iqraa) and the subsequent words of the angel from that day are the first verses of the Qur'an. (They don't appear at the beginning of a printed Qur'an, because the Qur'an was not revealed in the order in which it is currently assembled. Those words, however, were the first verses to exist.)
At that time, fasting was a common religious practice, for many religious groups. In fact, initially (during the second calendar year of the Hijra), Muslims were ordered to observe a one-day fast called the Fast of Ashura, on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, which is believed to have been the date of Yom Kippur that year. This is still a recommended fast for Muslims, but it is linked to a date on the Islamic calendar (10th of Muharram) and is therefore out of sync with the Jewish calendar. Soon after the original commandment to fast on Ashura, Muslims were told to fast for the whole month of Ramadan and the mandatory one-day Ashura fast became optional. There is also some question among Muslim scholars whether the day of fasting was supposed to be for Passover, because of the wording used to tell Muslims to fast, but it seems that that original date coincided with Yom Kippur.
Q: Anything else you think I should know?
Not about Ramadan, but here's something else you may want to know about:
Pink Hijab Day
Pink Hijab* Day was started (in the US) as a way of raising awareness about breast cancer among Muslim women and it has spread to other countries. On that day, Muslim women may wear a pink headscarf. (Personally, I'd love to see Muslim men "observe" it by wearing a pink kufi**.) It is celebrated, colorfully, in October.
*Hijab is the Arabic word for cover, and is used to mean a headscarf.
**A kufi is a Muslim male head covering, sometimes like a skullcap.
Any other questions? Post them in the comments and I'll add them to the FAQ.
Q: So it's Ramadan. What is Ramadan anyway?
Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims. It's a period of 28-30 days (the whole month) during which able-bodied Muslims fast from sun up to sun down.
Because the Islamic calendar is a non-self-correcting* lunar calendar, every (Western) year Ramadan falls about 12 days earlier, moving backwards through the calendar.
*The Jewish calendar which is also lunar has a way to self-correct every few years so that holidays move around but always stay in the same relative time period. For example, Channukah always falls somewhere around mid- to late- December hence gets associated with Christmas, much to the chagrin of many Jews. The Islamic calendar doesn't self-correct, so the Islamic months keep moving backwards in relation to the Gregorian (Western) calendar.
Q: What are the dates of Ramadan this year by the Gregorian calendar?
This year, Ramadan is August 1-August 29.
Q: What's involved in fasting? Can you drink water?
Islamic fasting means no food, no water, no smoking and no sex. However, fasting is only between sun up and sun down. You can do any of those things at night/early in the morning.
Q: Isn't that unhealthy?
It would be unhealthy if it were 24 hours a day, for a month. Because it's only during daylight hours, it's actually fine. This year, Muslims simply eat an extra-early breakfast and a late dinner. Some people stay up late and eat again. Muslims are not really missing a lot of meals.
Skipping water for daylight hours would be unhealthy if someone were doing heavy labor. It's important to avoid that during those hours. In Muslim-dominated countries, work and education schedules work around fasting, which makes it easier. In places like the U.S., Muslims will be trying to work fasting around work and school hours that are fixed. This is definitely more challenging, but not impossible.
Skipping water would be unhealthy if someone were seriously dehydrated to start with...but if someone were dehydrated, they wouldn't be able-bodied and wouldn't need to fast. The fast should not endanger health.
(Skipping smoking is not ever unhealthy. Ahem.)
Q: What if you have to take medicine?
If a Muslim has medicine to take once a day, he or she might take it before sun up or after sun down. I take medication every morning, so I just take it before I start fasting. If a person needed to take medicine during the day, then their health needs would over-ride the need to fast and they wouldn't have to fast.
Q: Do kids have to fast?
No! Kids are not required to fast. There are some different views on precisely what age young people should start fasting-most people say puberty, but "puberty" is ill-defined. Many older kids do partial-day fasts until they are "old enough" to fast the whole day.
Q: Who else is "excused" from fasting?
I read a great explanation of who is "excused," once:
If you can fast without it causing harm or being hard, you should.
If you can fast without harm, but it will be hard, you *may* choose not to fast.
If you can't fast without harm, you *can not* fast.
This is the best, clearest explanation I've ever heard.
To elaborate on the specifics that most Muslims know, people who are "excused" include:
- People who are traveling
- People who are elderly or sick
- People who are bleeding (menstruating), post-partum or breast-feeding.
"Sick" includes anyone who can not fast for chronic health or wellness reasons. That includes people suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Although they are not "sick"in the usual sense, fasting would be more harmful than beneficial to their overall health and well-being.
Q: Is Ramadan all about fasting?
No. Ramadan is a very spiritual time. A lot of focus is on prayer, brotherhood and peace. For example, if people are confrontational, a Muslim is encouraged to say "I am fasting" and offer peace.
It is also a time of being very aware of the physical trials of poverty. Many feel that part of the point of Ramadan is to know what it feels like to go without food, not just once but every day. It gives a whole new perspective on extreme poverty. It's also an experience that is intended to erase lines that divide people-such as class and race-because everyone is united in the shared experience of fasting.
Q: Are there special Ramadan prayers?
Many Muslims stay up late at night praying a special prayer called "Tarawih." In mosques, it can go on for hours.
The holiest night of the year, the Night of Power (Lailat ul-Qadr), is towards the end of the month. The exact day is unclear, but it is generally celebrated the eve of the 27th day of Ramadan. Some believe the exact date was left deliberately unclear so that people would spend the entire last ten days treating each day as if it could be the most holy.
Q: Should I not eat in front of someone who's fasting?
You might not want to make a big thing of eating, out of consideration. Mostly, though, we're used to it, especially in the U.S. In Muslim-dominated countries it's considered inappropriate to eat in public during Ramadan.
Q: What are you supposed to say to Muslims in Ramadan? Is it "Happy Ramadan"? Or "I'm so sorry you're starving..."
Yes, it is Happy Ramadan. It's a very festive time (at least in the evening)! You could also say Ramadan Mubarek (RAH-muh-dahn moo-BAR-ik) or Ramadan Mabruk (RAH-muh-dahn ma-BREWK), in Arabic.)
On the day before the officially designated Night of Power, you can say "Happy Lailat ul-Qadr." Since the official Night of Power is marked on the 27th, the good wishes would be offered on the 26th of Ramadan (and conveniently this year that is the 26th of August).
Q: If I want to show respect for, or be helpful to, someone who's fasting, what are some ways to do that?
There is no one right way to be supportive of all Muslims during Ramadan, however here are some ideas:
- Acknowledge that it's Ramadan. Say "Happy Ramadan" or (in Arabic) "Ramadan Mubarek" or "Ramadan Mabruk."
- Don't ask them to have breakfast/lunch/coffee with you unless you know (or suspect) they aren't fasting. At the same time, don't exclude them if others are gathering at those times.
- Invite them for dinner at your house (it's nice to not have to cook after fasting...cooking while fasting is a major drag).
- Join them for "iftar" (the evening meal of breaking fast) if they invite you.
- Offer to take their young kids out to play during the day, when someone who is fasting may be tired and cranky, or offer to put the kids to bed for them so they can attend tarawih prayers at night.
- Be aware that some Muslims may be isolated-Since Ramadan is traditionally a very social time when community and family play an important role, Muslims may feel very isolated if they do not have family or community who share the experience of Ramadan. Muslim immigrants may be far from their family or native land. Converts to Islam may face conflict with their families over their conversion. Some Muslims may not be very involved with the local Muslim community (especially true of progressive and LGBTQ Muslims) .Your support may matter much more than you think.
Q: If I know someone who says s/he's Muslim and but s/he's not fasting, does that mean s/he's not really Muslim? Should I assume s/he's not religious?
No. S/he could be sick or need to take medicine or have some other physical reason why s/he can't fast. If it's a female-bodied person, s/he could be mentstruating or post-partum or breast-feeding. A person could also be having a spiritual struggle with fasting. Long story short: It's no one's place to judge.
If you are friends with someone who is not fasting at all for the whole month, it's not usually considered rude to ask why they don't fast (if it's out of curiosity, not judgment). If you just notice it on a single day, it usually is not appropriate to ask, because the answer could be something like "I'm bleeding" or "I had really bad diarrhea this morning and was worried about getting dehydrated." Many of us don't care to share that information with every random curious person.
Q: Are there ways to support Muslims who are not fasting?
Again, it depends on the person and your relationship with him or her. Here are some general ideas:
- If you are not fasting yourself, you can offer to share a meal or activity with them during the day. Not fasting may make people feel disconnected from what others are experiencing during Ramadan. They may feel they have to eat "secretly."
- If you are fasting, be sure to include Muslims who are not fasting in meal-times, prayers, and other gatherings. Because fasting creates a sense of shared experience, not fasting can leave people feeling like they are looking in from the outside on the experience of Ramadan. They may also fear judgement or feel they have to keep explaining why they are not fasting. Extending a welcome to them can help ensure they feel included.
Iftar can be anything but often starts with three small sips of water, and includes dates and milk (and more water). It's often culture-specific, by which I mean that it depends on a person's national, familial and personal traditions.
Think of it this way: there are different traditional stuffings (or dressings) for Thanksgiving turkeys. In the South, I knew many people who swore by cornbread stuffing, while in New England, it's not Thanksgiving without sage and onion stuffing... and in other countries, the idea of stuffing poultry with bread of any kind is considered nothing short of bizarre.
In Morocco, where I lived for several years, they traditionally break fasting with Harira (a minestrone-like soup), shebakkia (honey-soaked sesame cookies--we don't have anything like them here in the U.S.), dates, milk, hard-boiled eggs, bread with butter, cheese or jam. And coffee. (For the caffeine-deprived, coffee is crucial!) Evening meals, contrary to what you might think, tend not to be huge gorge-fests. After fasting, you find you get full fast. I tend to want a large variety of things, but in small quantities, after fasting.
For Sohur, since it's very early in the morning (currently before 3am), many people go back to sleep after eating. It's common to eat high-protein and high-fat but light foods: yogurt, more hard-boiled eggs, cheese. The only unusual thing about sohur is that many stay away from sweet things because the last thing you need when fasting is a sugar crash at 8 a.m.
Q: If one were to visit friends observing Ramadan for a few days, what would be appropriate to bring? Are there treats for early breakfast or late dinner that would be especially seasonal?
Treats are totally personal taste. What we eat for the two main meals is also a question of personal taste...and that taste may vary considerably from day to day, depending on what the person became fixated on while hungry.
Q: Do you give presents for Ramadan?
Generally, no. Sometimes people give presents at the end of Ramadan, for the holiday Eid al-Fitr.
Q: Someone else I know said Ramadan starts (or ends) a different day from what you said. Why is that?
Ramadan begins with the sighting of the "new moon." For Islamic purposes, the "new moon" is the first time there is a sliver of waxing moon which is visible after sunset. In some places this is not visible on the same day as in other places, a fact which could lead to a lot of confusion.
There are two main schools of thought about this. One says Ramadan starts when the moon is (or can be) sighted where you are. The other says that Ramadan begins at the same time everywhere, regardless of sighting of the moon. I agree with the latter school of thought, for a number of reasons from the pragmatic (How confusing would it be if November started on one day in America, and a different day in London, and yet another day in Australia? It would be chaos!) to the spiritual (If Ramadan is about spiritual community, doesn't it make sense that the entire Islamic world fasts together?).
Every year, ISNA (the Islamic Society of North America) issues a statement that says Ramadan has started in North America; sometimes it is in synch with other places in the world, sometimes not. A few years ago, they adopted a policy of using astronomic calculations to determine when the month would start and end. A lot of other Islamic organizations world-wide are using this method, as well. For me, and most Muslims around the world, Ramadan starts August 1 and should end August 29. The following day, a new Islamic month begins-and therefore: it is the EID!
Q: What's an Eid? (And how do you pronounce that anyway?)
Eid means "Feast" or "Holiday" in Arabic. Eid is sometimes written: 'Eed or 'Eid. It starts off with a sound we don't have in English, but just saying "EEd" works fine.
There are two official Eids recognized by all Muslims each year.
- Eid al-Fitr is the Feast of Breaking Fast ("Fitr" comes from the same root as "Iftar,"). It marks the end of Ramadan.
- Eid al-Adha is coming up in a few months, around November 17. It falls during the Islamic month Dhul Hijja, which is the month when Muslims perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj. The holiday is sometimes called Eid al-Kabir ("the big Eid"), because it is, well, a bigger deal than Eid al-Fitr. It's a commemoration of the sacrifice of Abraham, a story that's told in both the Bible and the Qur'an. In the story, Abraham is commanded to sacrifice his son, prepares to do so and at the last moment is ordered to stop. (Instead, he sacrifices a sheep that happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.)
You can say "Happy Eid" or "Eid Mubarek" for either of the Eids.
There are other significant holidays observed by some Muslims. They include Islamic New Year, the fast of Ashura and the Prophet Muhammed's birthday.
Q: What's this business about an "Eid Bunny"?
It's a joke in my family. When one of the Eids fell at the same time as Easter, one year, I was kidding with my kids about the Eid Bunny bringing them presents. So now we have an ongoing family tradition/joke about the "Eid Bunny." If you mention this to any other Muslim, they'll look at you like you're nuts.
(We also have a weird family tradition about the "Toy Soldier" who sprinkles lights on houses during the winter Sparkly Season. Just chalk it up to my eccentricity.)
Q: So you're Muslim? (or "But you don't look Muslim!")
I'm an American-born convert of mostly European descent. I was raised Christian and converted to Islam when I was 15, so that's been my primary faith practice for a long time. I was, at one point, pretty conservative and dogmatic. Over time (and with the wisdom of passing years, I like to think) my views have been refined. I now consider myself a progressive Muslim. Personally, I do follow a lot of the main practice of the faith (e.g. I pray 5 times a day and I fast) but I definitely don't buy into any of the homophobic and misogynistic dogma some people associate with Islam.
Q: What is a progressive Muslim?
Progressive Muslims come in many stripes. The progressive Muslim movement is not a new "sect" but rather an ideological perspective. Progressive Muslims may identify as Sunni, Shi'a, Sufi, Ismaili or something else (though, significantly, some simply identify as "Muslim" and eschew sectarian labels). They may be U.S.-born or hail from another part of the world. They may embrace or reject a variety of things they (or others) associate with traditional practices of Islam.
There are a number of resources out there about Progressive Muslims, such as the book Progressive Muslims, edited by Omid Safi, and online at Muslims for Progressive Values, Progressive Islam (with its hilarious subtitle "Sheep are for Eid!"). There's also information on Wikipedia (of course) under the title Liberal Movements Within Islam.
Another excellent new book-of particular interest to LGBTQ readers-by progressive Muslim scholar, Dr. Scott Kugle, is Homosexuality in Islam: Islamic Reflection on Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Muslims.
Q: Islam and terrorism is linked in a lot of minds. What's up with that?
Being Muslim definitely does not make me a terrorist or lead me to support terrorism. Islam (by which I mean the Qur'an and reputable accounts of how the Prophet Muhammad lived his understanding of the faith) does not allow for killing civilians (or women and children), even in a time of war. Any kind of attack that involves suicide is also counter to Islam, since suicide for any reason is prohibited by the Prophet Muhammad's teachings. Some contemporary Muslims do try to justify things like suicide bombings, but it is my belief that these arguments are politically motivated-not spiritual. They get pretty far away from the spirit of Islam, which for most Muslims is a spirit of peace.
Q: There was an Associated Press article one year that said it's more likely we'll have terrorist attacks during Ramadan, because it's a significant time of year for "Muslim" terrorists. Is that true?
Well, since the "Muslim" terrorists consider themselves Muslim, Ramadan is an important time for them. However, there is definitely no Islamically-sound reason to wage war in Ramadan. Even a justified war (i.e. one of self-defense) should wait until Ramadan is over. (And since there is no justification, ever, for terrorism...)
That said, these people have shown themselves to operate on one principle and one alone: expedience. If they have the opportunity, they'll take it. They are not really concerned with anniversaries, marking high holy days, etc. They are opportunists.
So, no, I'd say we're no more or less likely to have more terrorist attacks right now.
Q: Is there a "short story" of what Ramadan is "about" historically or how it originated, similar to the Christmas story about the birth of Jesus?
The super short story:
Muslims believe the Qur'an began to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during the month of Ramadan. The holiness of the month is honored by fasting and increased prayer.
The slightly longer story:
Ramadan is a month of the Islamic calendar, so in and of itself, it doesn't have a "story" any more than the month of December has a "story." During Ramadan one year, Muhammad went on a meditative retreat up to a cave in the mountains (which was not unusual for him) and found he was being addressed by a creature who reappeared in every direction he turned. This creature was (believed to be) the angel Gabriel. The angel commanded "Read!" (Iqraa, in Arabic) and he said he could not read (he was illiterate). The angel again commanded him to read and Muhammad said he could not. This exchange continued until Muhammad said "What should I read?"
The command "Read!" (Iqraa) and the subsequent words of the angel from that day are the first verses of the Qur'an. (They don't appear at the beginning of a printed Qur'an, because the Qur'an was not revealed in the order in which it is currently assembled. Those words, however, were the first verses to exist.)
At that time, fasting was a common religious practice, for many religious groups. In fact, initially (during the second calendar year of the Hijra), Muslims were ordered to observe a one-day fast called the Fast of Ashura, on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, which is believed to have been the date of Yom Kippur that year. This is still a recommended fast for Muslims, but it is linked to a date on the Islamic calendar (10th of Muharram) and is therefore out of sync with the Jewish calendar. Soon after the original commandment to fast on Ashura, Muslims were told to fast for the whole month of Ramadan and the mandatory one-day Ashura fast became optional. There is also some question among Muslim scholars whether the day of fasting was supposed to be for Passover, because of the wording used to tell Muslims to fast, but it seems that that original date coincided with Yom Kippur.
Q: Anything else you think I should know?
Not about Ramadan, but here's something else you may want to know about:
Pink Hijab Day
Pink Hijab* Day was started (in the US) as a way of raising awareness about breast cancer among Muslim women and it has spread to other countries. On that day, Muslim women may wear a pink headscarf. (Personally, I'd love to see Muslim men "observe" it by wearing a pink kufi**.) It is celebrated, colorfully, in October.
*Hijab is the Arabic word for cover, and is used to mean a headscarf.
**A kufi is a Muslim male head covering, sometimes like a skullcap.
Any other questions? Post them in the comments and I'll add them to the FAQ.