September 14, 2007 Friday
ANTIOCH, Calif. -- Amid a row of women bowing in diaphanous, brightly colored gowns, Sughran Ahmed prayed -- prostrate in silence, rising with the imam's sung "Allah Akbar," God is great. Suddenly, her 3-year-old son, Muhammad Ali, broke free from his caretaker, ran to his mother and threw his arms around her neck. She smiled at him tenderly.
It is an affectionate congregation, said Chairman Abdul Rahman of the Islamic Center of the East Bay, which was recently displaced by an Aug. 12 arson fire.
"I wish these positive feelings would rub off on the community," he said with a sigh.
The figs, fruits and communion that break the fast at the end of the day tasted especially sweet this year.
About 100 worshipers gathered at sundown Thursday for the first iftar, or fast-breaking meal, of this Ramadan. The seller of an Antioch restaurant, empty in escrow, offered it as a temporary prayer hall Sunday, tripping off a mad dash to get insurance and permits in time for the celebration.
Walnut Creek restaurateur Misbah Khelid donated the food.
"Why not?" he said. "It's a time of need."
The 30 days of reflection and fasting take place in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, beginning at sunset after the first sighting of the new moon -- or, in these times of technological advancement, when calculations pinpoint the appearance of the new moon.
For much of mosque President Mohammed Chaudry's childhood, Ramadan fell during the summer months. But by the time he had become an adult, the fasting days had grown shorter. Now they are long again.
Because Islam follows the lunar calendar, each year Ramadan falls 10 days earlier. Every third year, it moves back a month.
"It's a justice system by God," he said. If not for the lunar calendar, "people in the West would be condemned to a fast for 11 hours."
The Quran directs the faithful to abstain from food, drink and other worldly pleasures, starting as early in the morning as one "can plainly distinguish a white thread from a black thread by the daylight" until darkness falls. The fast ends with a three-day festival called Id-al-Fitr.
For 1 billion faithful worldwide, Ramadan provides a time for considering one's character, strengthening bonds between loved ones and developing empathy for the hungry
A virtuous Ramadan record can be undone by lying, slandering, denouncing people behind their back, uttering a false oath, or indulging in greed or covetousness.
But the most drastic offense is giving in to anger, Chaudry said.
"The whole exercise is null and void if you give yourself to anger -- even if somebody provokes you," he said.
Those who would use Islam as a basis for terrorism or acts of aggression "are earning their way straight to hell," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
Chaudry was visiting the Vatican with his wife when a call came from his son telling him their Antioch mosque had been gutted by fire.
"I fell into a deep depression," he said. "For 10 years, I had devoted my life to creating a place where people could come and pray."
The mosque has resolved not to fold in fear.
But fewer people have been showing up each week for services at a Pittsburg mosque that has taken in the displaced congregation, Rahmen said.
Leaders will not know until the insurance claim is settled whether they should rebuild in place or find a new site.
"I would rather be back at the mosque," said Fauzia Rahman. Her sisters and cousins agreed.
"They wrote on the walls," said Verda Siddiqui, 10, looking bewildered.
Women chatting over their meal agreed that outsiders must have set the fire that destroyed their mosque.
"We lived there for three years," said Neelo Shaikh. "It's a really nice neighborhood."
Chaudry received a call from Antioch police at 7 a.m. the first day of fasting saying a vandal had kicked in the remaining functioning door on the mosque. Three weeks ago, he found graffiti scrawled on the back of the building.
But "support has been overwhelming," he said. The Contra Costa Interfaith Council plans a solidarity march Sept. 23.
"They have been very sympathetic, very generous and very kind," he said. "A big majority is sharing our grief."
Ramadan
Thirty days -- beginning at sunrise and ending at sundown -- of reflection and fasting arrive in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. In addition to five customary daily prayers, the Islamic faithful add the lengthy Tarawih, or night prayer, until, by the end of Ramadan, they have recited the entire Quran. On the 27th evening, they celebrate Laylat-al-Qadr in honor of the night the angel Gabriel revealed the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad.
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