Article Added On: August 29, 2009 - 11 months ago
Title: Ramadan can be 'a little scary' for Canadian Muslims
Original URL: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Ramadan+little+scary+Canadian+Muslims/1911714/story.html
Author: DOUGLAS TODD
Publication: Vancouver Sun
Publication Date: August 20, 2009 - 11 months ago
Faith Groups: Muslim
Themes: other

Abstract:

But believers say fasting for more than 14 hours a day can give them a deep, close connection with Allah

It could be an especially tough -- and meaningful -- Ramadan this year.

Itrath Syed, a women's studies instructor at Langara College and other institutions, is among many of Canada's roughly 800,000 Muslims who are especially nervous about the fasting for Ramadan that will be necessary during daylight hours beginning this weekend.

Since Ramadan is a moveable holy month based on the lunar calendar, which means it comes roughly 11 days earlier each year, it is arriving this time in the brightness of summer, during long stretches of daylight. That requires a lot of fasting.

However, the discipline of self-denial that is maintained during Ramadan, which is one of the five major "pillars" or foundational practices of Islam, is something from which I suspect more non-Muslims could learn.

It may be especially educational for residents of British Columbia, who are among those North Americans most likely to reject any form of institutional religion, to declare they're not "religious," but they're "spiritual."

The 1,400-year-old tradition of Ramadan helps bring Syed to a mystical place, to a connection with the divine that many Canadian seekers try to attain through a host of more fashionable and sometimes less-demanding practices.

Those alternative spiritual practices include meditation, crystal gazing, nature retreats, tai chi, labyrinth walking, yoga, channelling, dream work, chanting and even dietary restrictions, for internal "cleansings."

In contrast to some of these popular eclectic practices, however, I'd have to concur with Syed that for those Canadian Muslims who are religiously observant (which is not all, by any means): "Ramadan is quite a big commitment, especially during August."

As she adds: "It's a little scary to face."

This summer in northern metropolises such as Metro Vancouver, Ramadan fasting, which means no foods or liquids, will be required of devout Muslims between sunrise at roughly 6:10 a.m. and sunset at about 8:20 p.m. It will begin either Friday or Saturday night in B.C., depending on when the first crescent of the new moon is sighted by Muslim clerics.

"It's quite serious. There's this little bit of panic, of thinking, 'This is going to be a long day,' of 'we're not playing around here,'" Syed said on the eve of Ramadan.

Syed, who recently became a PhD student at Simon Fraser University, began marking Ramadan as a girl growing up in Metro Vancouver. She has found the challenging sacred month, which also requires abstention from sex and avoidance of negative emotions such as anger or greed, increasingly profound.

She says Ramadan, which often comes with sleep disruptions caused by the need to have a meal before sunrise, brings her into deep, close connection with Allah, the Arabic name for God.

In the first week of Ramadan, the demanding physical aspects remind her of her connection with her own hungry, tired body.

As Ramadan continues, however, Syed often begins sensing a mystical link between herself and the divine.

I can understand why Syed finds it hard to explain the value of Ramadan fasting to non-Muslims, particularly those non-religious or anti-religious Canadians who summarily reject institutional faith as too "hierarchical."

Nevertheless, it's clear she gets a great deal out of following the old tradition.

"Ramadan has a huge value for those who believe in it. The centre of it is your relationship with God, unmediated," she says.

"You move from consciousness of your body to consciousness of your relationship with God. You become constantly aware of God, in harmony with everything - and that's incredibly liberating and empowering."

While spiritually inclined westerners might refer to the state of mind obtained through Ramadan fasting as "mindfulnesses" or "being in the now," Syed says the Arabic word for it is "taqwa," sometimes translated as "fear of God," or alternatively, "God consciousness."

"Taqwa," she says, does not literally mean being afraid. Instead, it is the recognition that many of the things we strive for in this world, like money, success, fame or power, are ultimately "illusions" when viewed from a transcendent perspective.

Ramadan is not all grim, by any stretch. The social aspects are almost as important as the self-denial.

Many Canadian Muslims take vacations during Ramadan, so they can focus on it without having to combine fasting challenges with their workday in a country in which Muslims make up only two per cent of the population.

Many Canadian Muslims normally come together with each other after sunset for shared meals at a mosque or with family and friends in their homes.

In that way, the rigours of Ramadan can even include fun.