This is Day 21 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Kristina ElSayed If there was ever a time I felt completely at a disadvantage while parenting Muslim children, it is during Ramadan. I am so often embarrassed when we go to the Mosque during Ramadan that I would rather just not go. I am the only non-Muslim that attends Jummah on a regular basis at our Mosque. We go every Friday because I take my children and I... Read more

This is Day 20 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By AK Can’t you see you’re a walking Mosque yourself? Your mind’s your Mecca; Your body the Ka’aba That you face when you pray; Anything you say  Is an utterance from heaven Kabir, KG 129 Last year, Ramadan was one of the loneliest months of my life. It was my first year participating in Ramadan as an active member in the community. I became frustrated at the racist, homophobic,... Read more

This is Day 20 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Nadia Bousmina I write this piece with a broken heart that has been missing Taraweeh and Tahajud prayers in mosques for two years now and classify this condition as ‘mosque-sickness’. In Ramadan 2014, my husband and I were blessed with the birth of our first child. As much as I want my children to have a strong relationship with mosques from a young age, I do not believe... Read more

This is Day 19 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Ikhlas Saleem When I moved to Chicago a year and a half ago, I wrote about what I thought the Muslim community would be like. My idea of Chicago was largely framed by my family’s regular attendance of the Annual Muslim Convention hosted by the community of Imam Warith Deen (WD) Muhammad every Labor Day weekend. Because of the history of these conferences, I imagined Chicago’s Muslim population,... Read more

This is Day 18 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 *Editor’s Note: Khairunnisa and Farhaan Khan have embarked on an overland trip “from Johannesburg to Jerusalem and beyond.” Throughout, they stop at houses of worship, meet local people and learn about local cultures. In this essay, Khairunnisa writes of her experiences in the mosques and churches they visited. By Khairunnisa Khan Physiologically speaking, an eye is an eye and gender should not change what we see, right? Technically yes, but in... Read more

  This is Day 17 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Kinza Khan One of my favorite parts of Ramadan is attending Taraweeh prayers – the nightly prayers in which the Imam recites the Quran every night in order to complete it by the end of the month. I’m not sure why this is my favorite part – maybe it’s because it reminds me of celebrating Ramadan as a child since I would go with my dad every... Read more

  This is Day 17 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Aisha Hussain Rasheed I feel the weight of a nation on my shoulders; a nation that is too often spoken of in the global community in terms of its natural beauty rather than in terms of its people. And I wonder whether my individual experience reflects the experiences of all those Maldivians, who share this fate of having their life experiences casually set aside whenever their country... Read more

This is Day 16 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Safiyyah Surtee The brilliant full moon lovingly reminds me that we are midway through this month of mercy … her radiance inspires me to seek Light in the remaining two weeks and Hind’s #mymosquemystory project permits me to momentarily pause, to reflect on the past two weeks. I feel more organized and put together this Ramadan – having made a dhikr, Quran reading and reflection writing schedule in... Read more

This is Day 16 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Edina Lekovic In the powerful words of Amnesty International founder Peter Benenson, “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” While there is much to be depressed about when it comes to Muslims at home and abroad, there are also plenty of bright lights to celebrate. This Ramadan, I am grateful for the Quran and for the wisdom and tenacity of my elders at... Read more

This is Day 14 of Hindtrospectives’ #MyMosqueMyStory series for Ramadan 2015 By Shazia Javed Respected Imam, Assalamalaikum and Ramadan Mubarak. Firstly, I want to thank you for taking on the difficult task of leading the community in prayers. It must take a lot of constancy and devotion to be there, rain or shine, five times everyday and, in Ramadan, for Taraweeh as well. Though some of us may be lazy and choose to pray at home when days are too... Read more