A good day for a Christian to reflect on Ramadan Rev. Susan Thistlethwaite, An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ This is turning out to be a good day, even a good month to reflect on Ramadan for me as a Christian.  In addition to being a month of fasting from dawn until dusk, Ramadan is also a time when Muslims are to turn their attention from worldly affairs to improvement of themselves, deepening their spiritual lives and seeking... Read more

Ramadan posts by Baraka (Rickshaw Diaries – www.rickshawdiaries.wordpress.com) Taking the N-Judah train through San Francisco on Monday morning, every coffee shop we rumbled past had lines out the door; people waiting groggily for a cup of our second biggest import to jump-start their day. It’s freeing not to think about sustenance. Don’t get me wrong – I love food: as soon as one meal finishes I start thinking about the next; and if I step out the door for even a... Read more

Ramadan posts by Baraka (Rickshaw Diaries – www.rickshawdiaries.wordpress.com) The Joy of Fasting “Ramadan has come to live with us. It is God’s private apartments moved into our house and taking over. Where the doors were are now entranceways into His Garden. Where windows were are continuous waterfalls. Abundance in the dryness. Hidden in the dust: clusters of roses. Sprung from our footsteps: ascents.” – Excerpt from “Ramadan House Guest” by Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore I am unable to cherish anything until... Read more

  8-8-11 If Mosques are indeed Allah’s house on Earth, then many times it feels like the landowner has abandoned the premises and rambunctious squatters have claimed title through adverse possession. Fortified Cultural Cocoons Controlled by Ibn Tony Montana Visiting most mosques in America was always like entering a fortified, cultural cocoon controlled by middle-aged or elderly men who hung to power with an iron-clad desperation similar to dictators of countries they had left. The closest I’ll ever come to... Read more

Thanks to celebrated, HBO Def Jam poet Amir Sulaiman for letting me publish his brilliant poem on Somalia. May we all open our palms to pray for her and our wallets to feed her. “Somalia: Nevermind”: Poem by Amir Sulaiman black faces white tongues the smell of sea water taunts with sarcasm drink me   oh somalia im sorry i couldnt be there for you but while you were trying to to get your daughter to drink her urine a singer... Read more

Ramadan Despair I looked at the clock, and it read 6:30 p.m. “Daanish should be home any minute now,” I thought to myself. And I moved to the stove to turn off the burner under the haleem I was making for iftaar, and went to get his dinner ready, because when Daanish returns from a CBI (community-based instruction) outing with his therapist, he’s usually starving. If I don’t have dinner ready, I am risking a meltdown. I heard him before... Read more

Praise I’m standing about six rows back from the Imam, surrounded by mostly Afghan and Pakistani men, and during the very first cycle of the prayer, it hits me.  Here I am, before my Creator, and the sudden awareness isn’t in my mind.  It’s in my heart, where it should be, leaving me overawed and reduced.  Each verse of the opening chapter of the Qur’an began to make that much more sense. “All praise is due to God, Lord of all the Worlds”... Read more

A single stone is thrown in and the canyon resounds with the   hallelujahs of angels   A single breath contains the known and unknown universes   Back behind edgeless space are motions that   vibrate the heart   Back behind ancient mountains and historical intricacies   a shadow gives way to Light that has a door in it to   let us through   We take no step that doesn’t bring us nearer   One sip and the oceans... Read more

  A child prepares food for Iftar (evening meal) before the breaking of fast on the first day of Ramadan. (REUTERS/Athar Hussain)   The story originally appeared in the anthology, POW-WOW (Da Capo Press, 2009). “I promise.” The young boy – ashamed, dishonored, and fearing the wrath of a vengeful, omnipotent Allah – promised his Pakistani immigrant father with conviction and resolve. “I promise not to eat during my fast. I will only eat at maghrib, after the sun sets, with... Read more

First Post: 8/1/11 A Ramadan State of Mind When Ramadan-ing, it’s encouraged to have a Ramadan State of Mind. It’s a state of mind and state of body that is resilient to pain, longing, easy comfort and selfish desires. An observer can easily perceive this month long fast as an exercise in masochism commanded by a sadistic Creator who enjoys denying his “trying-to-get by worshippers” food, water, sex and bad etiquette from sunrise to sunset. To add insult to famine,... Read more