Ramadan in Minnesota: You're invited

Want to learn more about Ramadan and about Islam? A collaboration between Muslim and Christian communities is designed to help. The Minnesota Council of Churches and metro-area mosques have set up nine open houses to welcome non-Muslim residents for an introduction to Ramadan and an iftar, the traditional fast-breaking meal. This after-sunset meal may be at a family gathering or at a larger community gathering.

Ramadan is a month-long time of fasting, with the date determined by the lunar calendar. When that's in the heat and long days of summer, as it is this year, fasting from sunrise to sunset is particularly difficult. Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam: belief, prayer, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, and the hajj — pilgrimage to Mecca once during one's lifetime. Ramadan includes prayer and almsgiving as well as fasting.

Gail Anderson, director of the Minnesota Council of Churches' Taking Heart program, said that each gathering is different. All will include an introduction and explanation of Ramadan. Then the guests are invited to observe Muslim prayer. After the prayer, all will share a meal. Each event will last for about two hours.

To register for one of the evenings, click here. You'll get a confirmation letter that tells what to expect at the mosque, including a respectful way to dress. 

(And if you'd like to hear more about Ramadan, check out ASK A SOMALI | What's the polite thing to say on Ramadan? )

• Jazak -e-Allah - by Sajid Anwar on Mon, 07/23/2012 - 11:58am