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| Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 07:44 am Supporting the Hunger for Faith As Some Children Fast for Ramadan, Schools Are Learning How to Help By S. Mitra Kalita Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, November 3, 2003; Page B01 This month, as most of her classmates file into Glen Forest Elementary School's cafeteria to lunch on rectangular pizza slices and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Mona Ali heads for a room filled with toys and coloring books and other young people who aspire to be faithful. At an early age -- 73/4, to be exact -- Mona has decided it's time to join some fellow Muslim students at the Falls Church school in their commemoration of Ramadan, a month of fasting that began last week. More than one-quarter of the school's students come from predominantly Islamic countries, but most of the students have not reached adolescence, and Islamic law exempts them, along with the sick and elderly, from fasting. Still, children as young as Mona are choosing to partake. From sunrise to sunset, they are to refrain from eating, drinking or telling even the smallest untruth, the better to turn away from personal desires and renew their commitment to God. As an influx of immigrants redefines the Washington suburbs, educators say Muslim children feel freer to embrace their religion publicly, unlike previous generations who might have been tempted to avoid or conceal the fast in an effort to fit in. Schools with large Muslim populations are taking steps to accommodate and encourage the students during Ramadan. Many schools this month have set up special rooms -- which have toys and games -- so Muslims can avoid the sights and smells of food during lunchtime. Gym teachers tell observant children to walk instead of run the mile, or they allow the students to skip sports. Some administrators postponed festivities or school functions that feature treats until Ramadan ends Dec. 6 with a feast known as Eid al-Fitr. On Friday, as Hyde Elementary School in Georgetown held its annual Fallfest, Principal Anne Jenkins steered fasting children toward activities that didn't involve food. "You don't have to eat," she told them. "The maze and the hay pile and the face painting [are] a lot more interesting. There are plenty of other things to do." At Glen Forest Elementary, where teachers handed out Halloween candy to students, the Muslim children got their treats in little bags to open at home after the evening meal. A new playground has been installed at the school, but Principal Theresa West decided to delay the celebration until Dec. 6, when Muslims can enjoy the hot chocolate and doughnuts, too. "We tell [the non-Muslim students] this is about sharing, about celebrating other cultures," West said. "If the adults could play as well as they do, we'd have a wonderful world." Children say that fasting is easier when they have company. Last year, Mona attended a private school with fewer Muslim students and tried to fast -- unsuccessfully. "Now I get to go to a place to do my work," she said. "I entertain myself so I don't get hungry." About 150,000 Muslims live in the Washington region. In areas that have large concentrations of Middle Eastern immigrants, such as Falls Church, educators say it's not uncommon for Muslim children to learn as much about their faith from classmates as from parents or religious school. For some Muslim children, they say, peer pressure can make it easier to fast than to face questions about why they don't. "You're kind of doing it for religious reasons," said John L. Esposito, a Georgetown University professor and author of "What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam." "But you also want to be part of the crowd." In Glen Forest's room for fasting students, children corrected each other on history and religious terms. They reminded each other that going hungry is a test of faith. Some spent the lunch period writing portions of the Koran, their holy book, from memory. Others did homework or drew pictures of mosques with massive domes and swirly designs. Among the three dozen or so children was Sanam Sarwar, 10, the fifth-grade daughter of immigrants from Pakistan. She says a classmate helped persuade her mother to let her fast this month. "My mom didn't let me in the beginning," she said. "But I really wanted to." At an outdoor education program recently for students at Forest Oak Middle School in Gaithersburg, Principal John Burley purposefully placed two fasting sixth-graders together in a cabin. At 4:30 a.m., Burley would wake them and accompany them to the kitchen so they could fill up before sunrise. On Friday, they heated cheese omelets in the microwave and ate cereal. At lunchtime, they played chess and checkers. "For all of the other students seeing what's going on, it makes a very clear impression of the respect and the special accommodations that we make," Burley said. "It teaches a lot of good lessons for our school community." Such a message from schools is often more effective than parental instructions in encouraging children to fast, said Samira Hussein, a Gaithersburg mother of four who conducts seminars for Montgomery County educators who are trying to understand Islam. She recalled the elementary school principal who used to ask fasting students to report to her office during lunchtime. "But it looked like they were being punished, so we changed that and now they go to the media center," Hussein said. "The principal made sure they sat together, and they all got encouraged." Parents and educators say they expect many young children who started the Ramadan fast will not finish. And just as they encourage them to fast, the teachers and parents also tell them it's okay to quit if they need to. Mona's grandmother, who watches her and her younger brother, Omar, after school, always greets Mona with the questions: "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?" Mona says she's doing fine. But her mother, too, is watching closely. "I don't emphasize being so young and starting," Yeline Ali said. "We told her it was totally up to her." © 2003 The Washington Post Company
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| Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 10:40 am Learning a Lesson for Ramadan November 6, 2002 By ASMA GULL HASAN SAN FRANCISCO Every Ramadan, I learn something new. When I attended Catholic grade school in Colorado, I usually sat out of religion class and read textbooks about Islam that my mom had bought for me. The books said that Muslims must fast when they are old enough, once a year, to remember God, to experience suffering and to learn self control. The last reason always perplexed me. Every year my mother would tell stories about Ramadan when she was little and growing up in Pakistan - how the table at sunset would be full of delicacies; how she and her siblings would hold handfuls of food in front of their mouths, waiting for the cue from my grandfather to eat. At the end of the month of fasting, he would sacrifice a lamb, in the name of God, and feed it to the poor. The first time I fasted was when I was 14 and attending school away from home. Marching up to the man in charge of the cafeteria, I fully expected to be rebuffed when I asked for food to take back to my dorm for a predawn breakfast. But he just looked me in the eyes and asked what I would like to eat. Had I not been so stunned by his acceptance, I might have asked for a table full of Pakistani treats. Later that night, nibbling on the turkey sandwich he gave me, I proudly told another girl in my dorm, "I'm fasting for Ramadan!" For the first time, I was doing something that wasn't primarily for my parents or for good grades. By fasting, I was doing something for God. In college, on Saturday nights, other Muslim students and I would take the school van to a pancake house at 4 a.m. I told my non-Muslim friends, who always accompanied me to dinner in the dining hall at sunset, how the entire holy month of Ramadan to me was about feeling suffering and deprivation. This impression was reinforced by the fancy brochures my family and other Muslims I know received in the mail around Ramadan. They came from Islamic charities and described how, with only a small donation, one could feed a Muslim family in Bosnia for a month. Giving to charity is a central tenet of Islam and a tradition during Ramadan. Ramadan begins tonight, but this year I don't have much enthusiasm for telling people I'm fasting. With the Rev. Jerry Falwell referring to Muhammad as a "terrorist" and the Rev. Franklin Graham calling Islam a "very evil and wicked religion," I can't help but feel that anything that sounds Islamic will be perceived as anti-American. If you had told me at Ramadan two years ago that I would swallow hard before entering airport security or before logging onto my e-mail account (for fear of receiving another nasty, anti-Muslim message), I would have laughed. I have a hard time believing many things this Ramadan: that my mother's donation to feed a Muslim family in Bosnia probably landed her name on a list at the Justice Department; that my grandmother can't ask a relative to take money to the shrines of Sufi saints in Pakistan and India like she always does for fear of coming under suspicion for laundering money for terrorist causes; that I can't attend a mosque gathering to open the holiday without worrying that my license plate number will be put in a file of mosque-goers. If self control means resolving my frustration at not feeling free to practice my faith as I did as a little girl, if self control means not being able to give to charity at the precise time my God has asked me to help others, then I now know why God wanted Muslims to learn self control. Every Ramadan, I learn something new. Asma Gull Hasan is author of "American Muslims: The New Generation." NYTimes. Com
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| Friday, December 21, 2001 - 09:12 am Scott is age 13. He learned about Ramadan as part of his Social Studies class at St. Bridget's School where he is in the 8th Grade. The class studied the Middle East and also the prophet Muhammad and how he was the founder of Islam. Students were asked to think about important customs that they had learned about and to illustrate one of them. Scott drew this Art Work as part of that project. St. Bridget's School is a Catholic school located here in Richmond and goes from Kindergarten through 8th Grade.
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| Tuesday, November 28, 2000 - 10:07 am Malaysia Malaysian 6-year-old boy gets first taste of fasting experience Kuala Lumpur Nov 28, IRNA -- Six-year-old boy, Wan Mohammad Safuan an Bakar observed the holy festival of Ramadhan for the first time by fasting from dawn to dusk. The boy rested several times on Monday as he went shopping with his family at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the traditional site of the Malay bazaar, to mark the start of the month-long festival. His father, librarian Wan Abu Bakar, 48, said: "He was feeling a little thirsty in the afternoon. But as parents we must be firm and not give in." He found inspiration in his brother, Wan Mohammad Shahril, 10, who fasted all through Ramadhan for the past two years and would do so again this year. Wan Bakar, said: "We promise them big `green packets' (money) on Hari Raya (Eid- Al-Fitr) if they fast. Or occupy them with activities so they won't think about food." Fasting during Ramadhan, one of the five basic requirements of Islam, involves abstinence from eating, drinking and smoking. The spirit of fasting could be felt all around Kuala Lumpur on Monday and Tuesday, especially at the mosques. At Masjid Jamek in Kampung Baru, near here, the cooking of the traditional bubur mosque or "bubur Lambuk" (mosque porridge), which the faithful take after sunset, began as early as 6 am. By evening, more than 20 stalls were busy selling Malay cakes, Kurma, and other Malay famous cuisines outside the mosque compound - also to be consumed after dusk. At Masjid Jamek, where some 2000 worshippers came to end their fast after sunset and to perform terawih prayers, its famous bubur lambuk was gone within 30 minutes. At Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman most shops reported brisk business, with food stalls drawing maximum crowds. But housewife Hajati Zainuddin, 28, said she preferred a home-cooked meal with her family. Muslims will celebrate the end of the fasting month with Aid-al-Fitr, or Hari Raya Puasa, which falls at the end of December this year. Fasting month rituals in Malaysia -- special prayers and the observance of age-old customs make Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, a memorable time for adherents. Terawih prayers: Performed only during Ramadan, terawih prayers are conducted immediately after the Isyak (night) prayers, which is the last of five obligatory prayers of the day. Worshippers then recite portions of the Quran each day after the terawih, completing the whole Quran by the end of Ramadan. Sahur (meal before dawn): Fasting is from dawn to dusk, regardless of season or location. Muslims take pre-dawn meals to minimize possible hardship during the day. Iftar (breaking of fast): Muslims should observe iftar as soon as the sun has set. Light food is recommended, such as a fresh fruit or three dates or water, as the Maghrib (evening) prayers have to be said soon; Zakat Fitrah: This is an annual personal tithe, paid by the head of the household for himself and his dependents during Ramadan. It is pegged at RM3.40 (0.90 Us dollars) per person; Kurma (dates): It is customary to break a fast with dates, a practice which was initiated by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Dates sold here come from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and the US; Air Katira: Very popular during Ramadan, this white, cooling drink is made of condensed milk, jelly and fruit seeds; Traditional bubur lambuk: Spiced rice porridge given free to visitors every day at mosques. Cooked as early as 6 am by mosque volunteers or caterers, this porridge is available only during Ramadan; and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman: Capturing the spirit of Hari Raya, Eid-Al-Fitr, it stretches from Jalan Raja Muda to Sogo Shopping Complex before Isfahan road junction. Some 300 stalls sell clothes, shoes and food, 10 am to 11 pm daily. Malaysia has 22 million population, 55 percent of them are Muslims.
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| Tuesday, November 28, 2000 - 10:29 am Muslims See New Clouds Of Suspicion Muslims in the Washington area and across the country begin observing the holy month of Ramadan today amid signs of Islam's growing acceptance in the United States--but also persistent examples of how Muslims here sometimes face mistrust and unusual legal problems because of suspicions about their Mideast ties. Muslim chaplains now serve in the U.S. armed forces and on many college campuses, and women in head scarves are not an unusual sight in the workplace. The Clinton White House has hosted Muslims on several Islamic holidays, and for the first time, a Muslim gave the benediction at the opening session of this year's Republican Party convention.In public schools, rooms have been set aside during Ramadan for fasting Muslim students to study while their non-Muslim peers eat lunch. The U.S. Postal Service is releasing a stamp next year that commemorates the two most important Islamic holidays. And banks are creating new kinds of transactions for Muslims, whose religion fo! rbids them from accepting interest on deposits. But when violence flares in the Middle East or when Islamic extremists target Americans, as in the recent USS Cole attack, Muslims in the area say they face increased scrutiny by U.S. law enforcement agencies, suspicions about their faith and accusations that they support terrorism."There is a growing recognition of the role of Muslims as a positive factor in the building of American society's fabric," said Aly R. Abuzaakouk, director of the D.C.-based American Muslim Council. But events in the Middle East, he said, can "put a damper on our image as family-oriented, value-oriented, hardworking members of society."For the next month, Washington area Muslims, who number between 100,000 and 200,000, will observe Ramadan, abstaining from food, drink and other sensual pleasures during the day to learn discipline, self-restraint and generosity. They make up a racially diverse community that includes people of Arab descent, Americ! an-born converts, Pakistanis, Afghans, Indians and Africans, and they worship in nearly 40 sites and support five Islamic schools. In 1996, the country's first school for training imams, or prayer leaders, opened in Leesburg. Local politicians are noticing. Virginia Reps. James P. Moran Jr. (D) and Thomas M. Davis III (R) regularly visit Dar Al Hijra, a mosque in Falls Church, members said. And Fairfax County Supervisor Penelope A. Gross (D-Mason) helped Afghan Muslims overcome neighborhood opposition when building their Annandale mosque, Mustafa Center."The Muslim community, both men and women, are anxious to participate in our American way of life," Gross said. But "there is still a great deal of misperception among longtime residents about just what Muslims believe, and that is going to mean continuing outreach to educate non-Muslims."Muslims also have tossed aside an earlier generation's reluctance to be politically active, forming several organizations to promote their interests and starting voter registration drives. For the first time, Muslim advocacy groups endorsed a U.S. presidential candidate, backing Texas Gov. George W. Bush. These efforts to form what they call "a Muslim voting bloc" have begun to bear fruit, activists said. The D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations sent a post-election questionnaire to mosques across the country. Of the 1,774 respondents--10 percent of whom live in Virginia--72 percent reported voting for Bush. Of those, 85 percent said their decision was influenced by the endorsement of the Muslim groups. Yet despite efforts to move into mainstream America, Muslims say violence overseas often leads to a backlash. "There are still some impediments and hardships caused by elements in American society that do not welcome us," said Abuzaakouk, who cited the case of Alexandria resident Abdelhaleem Ashqar.Ashqar arrived in the United States from Gaza in 1989 on a U.S.-financed Thomas Jefferson Fellows! hip to get his doctorate in business. But in February 1998 he was jailed for civil contempt after refusing to testify before a New York grand jury investigating the Islamic Resistance Movement, also known as Hamas. Calling the probe a "witch hunt" against Palestinian political activists, Ashqar told a judge that testifying would violate his religious, political and personal beliefs and betray friends, relatives and colleagues in the Palestinian liberation movement. "I would rather die," he said.In jail, Ashqar began a hunger strike, and a federal judge ordered that he be force-fed. After Ashqar went from 180 pounds to 120 pounds during his six-month confinement, the judge concluded that Ashqar would never testify and ordered him released. "It was actually the worst experience of my life," said Ashqar, 42, who is a college teacher and a board member at Dar Al Hijra Mosque.A former spokesman for Islamic University of Gaza, Ashqar said he has been an activist since colleg! e and is "sympathetic to the Islamic movement in general." But, he said, he was never a member of Hamas and deplores terrorism."I'm against killing civilians period, both sides . . . Palestinians and Israelis," he said.Hamas, an Islamic movement seeking Palestinian independence, has a charitable wing, which operates a network of schools and hospitals in Gaza, and a military wing, which has carried out suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilians. In 1997, the U.S. government declared Hamas a terrorist organization.In other examples of what they say is guilt by association, Muslims here have complained about being unfairly singled out by airport security officers using racial profiling. And they object to a 1996 anti-terrorist law that permits immigrants to be deported on classified evidence that is withheld from the immigrants and their attorneys. Critics say that such "secret evidence" has been used disproportionately against Muslims and Arabs, some of whom ! have been jailed for years while they seek access to the evidence in order to refute it. In at least three cases, Muslim immigrants held for more than a year were released after courts let them see and challenge such evidence."I think it's fair to say that in the last four to five years, virtually all the immigrants who've had secret evidence used against them have been Arab or Muslim," said David Cole, a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center who was involved in several cases. "The United States will say that's because that's where the terrorist threat comes from. But I'm not satisfied with that response," he said. "There seems to be a presumption among [federal law enforcement authorities] that anyone associated with these groups must be a terrorist."Muslims also say that outspoken critics of Israel and its policies toward Palestinians are sometimes accused of supporting terrorism. Last year, the nomination of a prominent Muslim activist to ! the advisory National Commission on Terrorism was rescinded after Jewish leaders complained that the nominee had said Israeli policies helped cause Palestinian terrorism.Last month, Sen.-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton returned $50,000 to the American Muslim Alliance after New York newspapers reported that the group supports the use of force by Palestinians in their battle with Israel. The alliance countered that it is a "mainstream" organization that "unequivocally denounces terrorism by both sides: Israeli as well as Palestinian."Ashqar said his troubles with U.S. law enforcement agencies began when he was studying business management at the University of Mississippi.In 1991, he said, the FBI office in Oxford, Miss., started asking questions about him at the university. In June 1996, people he believed were law enforcement agents began following him, he said. In September 1996, he said, he was asked to meet with John R. Hailman, chief of the criminal division in the U.! S. attorney's office for northern Mississippi, and several FBI agents, whose names and business cards Ashqar provided to The Washington Post. During that meeting, Ashqar said he was asked to help "incriminate some people" who were Hamas activists. He said he declined offers of money, U.S. citizenship and jobs for himself and his wife in exchange for his cooperation.Reached by phone, Hailman said, "The only thing I can say is that I can't comment."Ashqar said he spoke to Muslim student groups across the country and raised money for schools in Gaza. But he said he never raised money for Hamas. And the Israelis, he argued, would not have let him come to this country if he had been involved in terrorist activities.According to news reports, the New York grand jury that subpoenaed Ashqar was probing the activities of Mohammed Abu Marzook, a Hamas leader and former Fairfax County resident. Marzook was jailed for 22 months by U.S. authorities and deported to Jordan in 1997 af! ter Israel dropped its request for his extradition. He was at the Islamic University of Gaza when Ashqar was its spokesman. Ashqar, who moved to Northern Virginia after obtaining his doctorate in 1997, said he went on a hunger strike because "I'd been through too much harassment, and this was one way to express my anger and frustration and end this campaign against Muslims. We cannot give up our beliefs for money and stand in court as collaborators and traitors against each other."He was pained, he said, by "the feeling that justice was not being served. If you have anything against me, please go ahead and press charges and give me a fair trial."Ashqar--who has never been charged with a crime--still faces an uncertain future. He was arrested once by the Israelis before coming to the United States and fears persecution if he returns to his homeland. He has applied for political asylum.If it is granted, he said, he wants to become a U.S. citizen. "Why not?" he said. "It'! s a country of immigrants. I'll work as a civil rights advocate." Source: Washington.com
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