Day 2 of Ramadan 2011

http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-2-of-ramadan-2011.html

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 | Ramadan 2, 1432

PURPOSE: To share diverse cultural experience of Ramadan.  

THE PLAN :: Iftaar at a mosque from every denomination including: Ahmadiyya, Bohra, Ismaili, Shia, Sufi, Sunni, Warith Deen Muhammad, Wahabbi and others. You are welcome to join me or experience it yourselves.  Cherish the differences.

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TODAY�S EXPERIENCE
Terms: Below the note

Sahri (Pre-dawn meal):  Rotisserie Chicken and Bananas
Iftaar (Phase I - Refreshments): Dates, Haleem (Ground meat and lentil) & watermelon
Iftaar (Phase II - Dinner ): Taco bell�s beef baja chalupa and crunchy taco supreme
Mosque : Makkah Masjid in Garland
Dominant Culture: Gujarati and Sindhi Memons.
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During the work week, very few can make it to the Mosque for Iftaar (breaking the fast with refreshments and at times combined with meals). I went in early to the Mosque in Garland, which is predominantly frequented by Memons, a group of Muslims from Gujarat and Sindh areas of India and Pakistan.

A group of about 18 people gathered in the eating area of the mosque and sat down on the floor in a circle. After the grace prayers, every one breaks the fast  in unison.  Dates are the most common item the world over, indeed, if all the 1.5 billion Muslims were to fast, that�s at least 5 billion dates consumed in one evening. The other items are usually Milk or Yogurt products and a fruit or two with varied items, here in this mosque Haleem (ground lentil and meat) was on the plate. Refreshments are shared to prepare the stomach to receive full meals after the prayers.

Ritual prayers: The same three units of prayers are prayed in congregation throughout the world, however, the rituals vary, and Muslims are as diverse as they can be.

In the standing position, one stands with his or her hands folded over chest, tummy or navel while the Imam (prayer leader) recites the first chapter of the Qur'an in Arabic. At the end of this recitation, in most mosques the entire congregation says �Ameen� out loud in melodious unison. However, in this Mosque, the Ameen was said silently. It reminded me of the Mosque in my town where we followed the same practice, however it has changed there now. In last November I was in Bangalore, the practice was to say Ameen out loud. I felt like Rip Van Winkle.

At the end of the prayers, God�s name is recited in three versions on the fingers or the worry  beads for a total of 100 times followed by the common prayers,  where the Imam says short verses followed by Ameen by the congregation on each verse. This is not common in all the Mosques where everyone gets up at the end of the prayers. I will chronicle the uniqueness of each group and sub-group as I visit a mosque a day for the Iftaar, Insha Allah.

On a slow day, I will share the pictorial diagrams of various prayer postures.

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer and a thinker nurturing the pluralistic values of Islam. More at: http://www.mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp
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MESSAGE: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/07/ramadan-message.html
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TERMS:

Sahri - Pre-Dawn meal before early morning prayer (fajr).
Iftaar - Sunset Meal as a conclusion of the fast.

Sawm - fasting from sunrise to sunset - No food, no water, no nothing and no intake of any food or water. More critically it is a practice to abstain from ill-will, malice, anger, temptations and human desires. Don't hear, see, speak or act less than goodness.

Rituals - There are several variations in rituals and they vary from place to place. In Bangalore where  I am from, the whole family gets up early around 4:00 AM and together cook extensive meals for Sahri /Suhoor, while others choose to cook earlier night and just warm it up and eat in the morning. The Iftaar is done elaborately at mosques, homes or other gatherings where friends from different faiths are invited to break bread and nurture goodwill.

Day 1 of Ramadan 2011

http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-1-of-ramadan-2011.html


Ramadan Mubarak
Monday, August 1, 2011 | Ramadan 1, 1432


Sahri - Pre-Dawn meal before early morning prayer (fajr). 
Iftaar - Sunset Meal as a conclusion of the fast.

Sawm - fasting from surise to sunset - No food, no water, no nothing and no intake of any food or water. More critically it is a practice to abstain from ill-will, malice, anger, temptations and human desires. Don't hear, see, speak or act less than goodness.

Rituals - There are several variations of the terms,  and rituals vary from place to place. Whole family gets up early  around 4:00 AM and together  cook extensive meals for Sahri /Suhoor and some just pre-cook earlier night and choose to eat on time. The Iftaar is done elaborately at mosques, homes or other gatherins places where friends from different faiths are invited to break bread and nurture goodwill.


Purpose of this site:  To share diverse experience of Ramadan with our friends and families Muslims and others.
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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Sahri - Bagel Sandwich
Iftaar - Grilled Fish

Alhamdu Lillah, (Praise the Lord) today is the first day of fasting in the month of Ramadan 2011. It's Monday, Yasmeen my wife, dropped me off early in the morning at Louisville Airport, and on the way we grabbed a Bagel sandwich from McDonald's for Sahri aka suhoor (early morning meal). I reached Dallas at 8:00 AM

Theoretically Ramadan should commence on the same day for all Muslims, but it seldom happens. It is the same moon that every one follows, but sighting technicalities makes it different for different groups, usually a day or two apart. Most Muslims wish it were on the same day. I suggest that we learn to appreciate that wish, but ask people to resist the temptation to think anything less of others who begin a day earlier or later. The article �Politics of Ramadan� is about to be published, God willing I will share that on this blog. Ramadan is about humility.

For Iftaar (meal to break the fast) I went to Richardson Mosque, the oldest Mosque in Dallas built in the mid eighties. I was early and went straight to see Imam Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci (links below) in his chambers. He is such a delight to talk with and he has more than once said that he finds that he could talk with me about anything comfortably.


Imam Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci has been recognized as one of the 500 influential Muslim leaders in the world. He is a lawyer, a scholar of Islam and an Imam. He has now established an institution with his name to impart education to the youth born and raised here in the D/FW Metroplex. The future American religious scholars will be influenced by his wisdom and he has both male and females students learning to be the future leaders. One of them is Rashad Hassan, US Ambassador to OIC, Organization of Islamic countries.

We talked about the Sharia conference briefly and the need for Muslims to have a plan, rather than react to situations. The situation in Murphree, Terry Jones and other topics and ended up talking the Chapter I am writing on Muslim Agenda which puts together a blue print for Muslims to define where we need to be twenty years from now and how we are going to get there. The need to become participants and contributors towards the safety, security and prosperity of America is crux of the Agenda. He was enthused about the plan and mentioned about the Late Dr. Dilnawaz Siddiqui who was planning on writing one. The phrase Insha Allah jumped quickly and repeatedly out of my mouth. I panicked.

Well, he and I shared his fruit plate and yogurt for breaking the fast. I enjoyed it very much. He is a great host! 

Being the work day, there were about 150 people at the congregational evening (Maghrib) prayers which he led.

After the prayers I ate my meal in the car which I had picked up from Silver Spoon Restaurant I used to frequent some 15 years ago. Waqar and Ursula have run that operation for over 20 years and I enjoy their home cooked meals, listened to NPR while I enjoyed the curried grilled fish.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer and a thinker nurturing the pluralistic values of Islam. More at: http://www.mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp

** * I did not realize that I have written at least 7 articles about him.

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Honoring Imam Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci today http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/04/honoring-imam-dr-yusuf-zia-kavakci.html

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Article dedicated to Imam Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/04/there-is-only-one-islam.html
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Can Muslim pray in Cordoba Masjid?
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/can-muslims-pray-in-cordoba-masjid.html
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THE PLAN :: Iftaar at a mosque from every denomination including: Ahmadiyya, Bohra, Ismaili, Shia, Sufi, Sunni, Warith Deen Muhammad, Wahabbi and others.
..................................


MESSAGE: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/07/ramadan-message.html
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