Ramadan Mubarak - Reflections on Celebrations

A few Ramadan questions are answered here; why do we celebrate on different days? What is it with the Moon? How do you greet Muslims on this day? What kind of culinary delights are out there? How do Muslims celebrate in different parts of the world? Ramadan TV Commercials?  A bit of politics too and lots of Eid Mubarak symbols at the link.

I urge Muslims around the world to take a minute to stop and appreciate the men and women who serve our nation, the armed forces, national guard,  police, firefighters and others who are out there to guard our freedom and secure the safety of individuals and families. I have done this time and again, and I always remember the Louisville experience, where the police officer asked me to forward the email to him, asking Muslims to appreciate them, and after the Eid prayers, he had forwarded it to many police officers.

I urge Muslim organizations to issue a press release to this effect, and this is our appeal from the World Muslim Congress, a think tank committed to building a cohesive America. WMC is a part of the Center for Pluralism.

Pluralism is alive and kicking in Islam – i.e., respecting the otherness of others! Indeed, there are many schools of thought, and the good clergymen always point out the different traditions, Dr. Imam Kavakci, one of the leading Muslim Scholars, always advised on that basis. It is up to the individual to follow what he or she is conditioned or comfortable with. The non-pluralistic Muslims resort to name calling the others who take a different path. But all of them celebrate the festival.

A month-long fasting should clean up our bodies, hearts, minds, and souls, it means we are not biased towards anyone, we have no wall between us and another human, and that we are committed to peace and harmony. What others do to you does not matter, but how you behave towards others is all that matters in making America great again. All of us need to live without apprehension regardless of what we believe, wear, look and talk, and this is the work of Center for Pluralism and World Muslim Congress.

By the way, I am an independent, and not a Republican or a Democrat and I am a Pluralist Muslim, like a majority of Muslims – i.e., respecting the otherness of others, and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of his beautiful creation.

All of this at http://ramadannews.com/ramadan-celebrations-eid-mubarak/

Mike Ghouse

When is the Eid? Ramadan Celebrations?  Is it Friday, Saturday or even Sunday? For some, it will depend on when the moon (first day) is sighted.

Pluralism is alive and kicking in Islam – i.e, respecting the otherness of others! Indeed, there are many schools of thought, and the good clergymen always point out the different traditions, Dr. Imam Kavakci always advised on that basis.  It is up to the individual to follow what he or she is conditioned or comfortable with.  The non-pluralistic Muslims resort to name calling the others who take a different path. But all of them celebrate the festival.

Since the beginning of Islam, there have been debates as to what constitutes moon sighting. Some interpret that there has got to be a minion to declare that they have seen it themselves with their own eyes, while others do not accept it unless they have seen it themselves. It is also acceptable if the moon is sighted elsewhere, but now, each group has to have their own moon sighting. In the United States, there is an organization that monitors moon sighting and announces it in advance. Over the millennium we learned to accept and respect the otherness of other.

Politics plays a crucial role in our Temples, Synagogues or Churches, Mosques are no different. A few scientifically-inclined-Muslims have adopted NASA’s calculations believed to be precise. However, four different traditions are operating concurrently; i) Strictly Calendar, ii) NASA  iii) Sighting with bare eyes and iv) sighting by others in the community.

The NASA-oriented and the Calendar-group miss out the fun, joy, and exhilaration of waiting and watching the needle thin moon on the horizon. The whole family gets out on the rooftops, or higher grounds, some even climb electric poles, and a few will drive out where they can see the sky without obstacles, kids would climb on parent’s shoulders, and a few go from place to place shouting in excitement, did you see it? It is like the belief in Santa Claus, Angels, and other myths, each tradition fulfills one’s emotional needs and every one becomes sentimental. After all, if celebration does not have the excitement, it is not a celebration.

America’s spirit of freedom touches every soul, no matter what religion or tradition they follow. American Muslims are no different, they prefer to have a pre-set date to start fasting and the celebration called “Eid” pronounced as Eeed as in Eeel. The idea is for them to take a day off from work or get an optional day off for their children from the schools. Always, the joy multiplies when the family and friends celebrate it together. They prefer to start on a pre-set date and trust the calculations.

The conflicts are the same everywhere on the earth. Each group subscribes to one of the four systems mentioned above. America is no different; you will find celebrations on one or three different days in any given city, the Sunnis, being the largest group has the greater division within, while the Sufis, Shias, Ismailis, WD Mohammad, Bohra and Ahmadiyya follow the pre-determined dates.

The consensus may be attributable to having central spiritual leadership in all groups except the Sunni. However like the American Public wishes to see the Republicans and Democrats drop the party lines and focus on what is good for America, the Muslims also wish they could celebrate the Eid on one single day. It ain’t going to happen, it is human to differ. It is against the spirit of Ramadan to denigrate, diminish and devalue other practices.

The essence of Ramadan is to become humble, simple and free from ill-will, anger, meanness, and hate. Let’s fill our hearts with goodwill and honor Ramadan by saying “Eid Mubarak” or Happy Eid to everyone who celebrates on a different day in the same town. The essence of Ramadan is joy and let’s not prick the bubble; God has not signed a pact with anyone behind other’s back to favor one and disfavor the other.  Let’s allow God to be an honest God who is just, kind, merciful and loving as Quran says. Let’s rejoice the differences of interpretations. If you want to celebrate every day, go to every celebration.

In the spirit of Ramadan, I pray that Ramadan gets into our hearts and minds and make us embrace all factions of Muslims without undermining their tradition and further pray that we treat every human on the earth with dignity, respect, and care.

Conflicts within

The Shia-Sunni conflict we see in Iraq is new to both groups of Muslims, conflicts have always been there. The violence in conflict is new and took birth after our invasion of Iraq, which sowed the seeds of division. Shamefully, the Shia and Sunni played right into it.  Our short-sighted foreign policy is pitting Saudi Arabia against Iran. Iran is not a threat to anyone, it is the false propaganda by Netanyahu, and the salesmanship of defense contractors to sell Arms to Saudi, and the Saudi monarchs have bought the idea.

I wish we could sell peace and democratic education that will benefit everyone in the long haul. I pray, the leadership of these two nations make a bold move and meet in Singapore and hash out the differences.

In the spirit of Ramadan, I hope the Pakistani people will wake up and fix the discriminative clauses in their constitution towards minorities, particularly the belligerent attitudes towards Ahmadiyya Muslims. If Ramadan cannot purify us, not sure what will. As Iqbal would have said it, “tujhe kya milega ramzan may ” – that what is the point in observing Ramadan if it does not purify you?  I wish Muslims choose to follow the foundation of Islam; Amin, that is caring for every human being and seeking peace and harmony by respecting the otherness of others. No human is more privileged than the other and only God is the judge of one’s faith.

That is indeed the wisdom expressed in Qur’an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: “O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of God, is the best in conduct. God Knows and is Aware of everything you do.”

Muslims must do this

I urge Muslims around the world to take a minute to stop and appreciate the men and women who serve our nation, police, firefighters and others who are out there for the safety of individuals and families.  I have done this time and again, and I always remember the Louisville experience, where the police officer asked me to forward the email to him, asking Muslims to appreciate them, and after the Eid prayers, he had forwarded it to many police officers.

What else? 

Everything you always wanted to know about Ramadan is here at www.RamadanNews.com

Ramadan around the world  at http://ramadannews.com/videos-ramdan-around-the-wordl/

Ramadan Commercials by McDonald at http://ramadannews.com/ramadan-commercials/

Ramadan Culinary at http://ramadannews.com/ramadan-traditions/

The essence of Ramadan at http://ramadannews.com/essence-of-ramadan-may-be-traceable-in-your-faith/

What does God want? http://ramadannews.com/happy-ramadan-what-does-god-really-want/

You can also read “The Rituals of Ramadan” followed by the “Spirit of Ramadan”.
Usually, Arabic Speaking people call it Ramadan, all others call is Ramzan, both are acceptable terms.

There should be at least 100 ways of wishing the festivities:

Ramadan Mubarak!
Salamat Hari Raya
Eid Mubarak
İyi Ramazanlar
Ramadan Kareem
Hayırlı Ramazanlar
Hoşgeldin Ramazan,
Happy Eid-ul-Fitr

If you know the greetings in any other language, please send an email to MuslimVision2020@gmail.com to be included for the next Eid.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day through the Center for Pluralism and World Muslim Congress and its affiliate sites including www.RamadanNews.com and www.MuslimSpeaker.com and www.InterfaithSpeaker.com

      

                     

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day through the Center for Pluralism and World Muslim Congress and its affiliate sites including www.RamadanNews.com and www.MuslimSpeaker.com and www.InterfaithSpeaker.com

Ramadan Mubarak, a short note

May this Ramadan be a blessing to the entire universe, Amen! God is not anyone's property, he belongs to all and no matter what name and how you call upon him, it is the same creator. There is no such thing as a Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or other God. God is a fancy word for the cause that created this universe.  Since 2010, God has blessed me to visit a mosque a day for Iftaar (breaking the fast), and thank God, I have visited every Mosque of every denominations in Dallas including the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem - that is over 40 different Mosques. 

The purpose of visiting different Mosque was to learn about each others' varied traditions - to respect the otherness of others as God has guided,  and to get rid of the Takabbur (arrogance) in us- Humility builds bridges and arrogance kills it. We have to remember, that other traditions are dear to others, as our traditions are dear to us. Ramadan is also a month to knock out the ignorance about others, take time to visit Synagogues, Churches, Temples, Gurdwaras and other places of worship, God is all over and in every thing.  You can read some of the articles about Ramadan - the spirit, rituals, politics and traditions of Ramadan on the left panel at  www.RamadanExclusive.com

Please feel free to leave your comments

Thank you,
mike ghouse   
(214) 325-1916

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links atMikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com 

Ramadan’s Pluralism Message | Intrafaith and Interfaith goals

Ramadan’s Pluralism Message | Intrafaith and Interfaith goalBy the end of 2020, there will not be a major city in America, and perhaps in the world, where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working, eating, praying, playing, marrying, and doing things together.  This is bound to create conflicts, and thus we need to prepare ourselves to deal with such eventualities.

The guidance can be found in every religious tradition; all of them were committed to creating cohesive societies where no one had to live in apprehension or fear of the other.  

I am pleased to reiterate the Islamic tradition in this essay.  

Quran 49:13 says that God has created us into different tribes, communities and nations. It was indeed his choice to create each one of us to be unique with our own thumbprint, eye print, DNA, color and taste buds. Yet, the whole creation was put together in perfect balance and harmony (55:7); Planets and plants were programmed to operate with precision (Q55:5) year after year, and humans were given a free will with the responsibility to maintain that balance for their own good or perish like the earlier species through climate changes or conflicts.

 

That brings us to Pluralism which is defined as, “respecting the otherness of the others and accepting the (God-given) uniqueness of each one of us.”  You are who you are, and I am who I am. Q109:6 (Y. Ali), “To you be your Way, and to me mine.”  Your faith is dear to you as mine is to me,  together, we have to live and work on maintaining that harmony for our good and for the creator’s joy. God’s religion is peace.

God knew such diversity is bound to create conflict and mess up the delicate balance, so he encourages us in the same verse 49:13, that the best among you are the ones who know each other. Indeed, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of the God given uniqueness of each one of us, and with that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Pluralism is not a regulatory system like Secularism, or theocratic governance, but  your choice to have good manners, and  a good attitude towards fellow being as guided by Quran, the Prophet and common sense.

My focus of this essay is application of God’s recommendation “to know each other” within the fold of Islam and with members of diverse family of faiths.

Within the fold of Islam

A majority of us are saddened with the day to day events in the Muslim world, calling each other infidels and killing the other in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and elsewhere.  Quran says killing one person is like killing the whole humanity.  You are not to kill a single soul unless it is in self defense. We talk about unity, and spew so much hate for the other in the same breath; it needs to go as God wants peace.

I am appealing to those Muslims who have the integrity to match their words with their actions, and pray for the integrity of others who lack it.

During this Ramadan, please make an effort to do your Iftaar (breaking fast) in every mosque, particularly in the Shia, Sunni, Ahmadiyya and WD Muhammad or at least seek God’s guidance to remove hate and bias from our hearts for each other.  Invite each other, not to discuss differences but to know each other to learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept each other, so that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

 Take some fruits and dates if you have a few dollars or just go there and let the Imam or the volunteers know that you are from a different tradition and making a sincere effort to be part of the larger community in every which way you can. 

Over the last four years, I have been to every mosque of every denomination in the United States, except the Nation of Islam, and the Progressive Muslims. Insha Allah, I intend to make the trip to Washington DC or New York.  I have chronicled the uniqueness of each tradition with full respect at RamadanDaily.com.

When you visit your friend’s house, you don’t criticize how they have arranged their furniture; in fact you may reluctantly praise it, but never put it down.  You don’t dare criticize how their kids keep their rooms, eat, wear or talk.  For God’s sake go to other Mosques with the same attitude, the attitude of pluralism. 

This year, we have 4 Fridays in Ramadan; make an effort to attend at least four major denominations on each Friday.

Dealing with fellow members of diverse family of faiths;

 
Prophet Muhammad was called Amin, the trustworthy, truthful, just and around whom people felt secure. We need to be Amins of the society.  We need to have comfortable working relationships with everyone from Atheists to Baha’i, Buddhist, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jewish, Native Americans, Pagans, Sikh, Wiccan, Zoroastrians and every one in between including fellow Muslims of different denominations. We should not be dumbfounded when it comes to the right knowledge about others, preferably as they express it and not what is dished out to us about them. We ought to take pride in knowing all of God’s creation expressed in different faiths and traditions.    

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) life is a bold example to live civility, openness and with confidence.  He had offered a space in his Mosque for the visiting Christians of Najran to pray after the interfaith dialogue.  Had they prayed, they would have called on Jesus as son of God and Prophet would not have objected it. The greater value he taught was to respect the otherness of others. Remember he also had his signature revised in Hudaybiyyah treaty – From Muhammad (pbuh) Rasool Allah to Muhammad (pbuh) bin Abdullah.  It was to respect the otherness of others.  Let’s follow him and build friendships with people of faiths or no faiths, and become Amins of the Society.

Together as Muslims, let’s make the world a safe and secure place for every one of God’s 7 billion to live cohesively.  Let’s not blame others, but do our share of good in our own Masjids, neighborhoods, communities and towns on a smaller level.  This is our home.

Please study: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/american-muslim-agenda-a-_b_5528706.html 

Additional Reading:

Politics of Ramadan - http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/08/the_essence_of_ramadan_is_to_become_humble.html

Spirit of Ramadan
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/spirit-of-ramadan_b_939961.html

Ramadan Traditions
http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2010/09/traditions-of-ramadan.html

Sahri at Masjid Al-Aqsa
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157624809154378/

American Muslim Agenda
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/american-muslim-agenda-a-_b_5528706.html

Ramadan Cohesion -
http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2011/07/ramadan-cohesion-2011.html

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, author and thinker, and heads the World Muslim Congress, a think tank committed to nurturing the pluralistic values of Islam, as well as the Foundation for Pluralism, educating about Pluralism.  | More about Ramadan at  www.RamadanExclusive.com