Faithful Observe Ramadan in Berkeley and East Bay

At home and around the world, the holy month of Ramadan is a time to consider one’s character, strengthen bonds between loved ones, develop empathy for the destitute and grow closer to God.

While its character remains unchanged, its timing doesn't. Because Islam follows the lunar calendar, each year Ramadan comes 10 days earlier. Every third year, it moves back a month. This year, Ramadan began Aug. 1 and will continue through Aug. 29. 

The Q’uran directs believers to abstain from food, drink and other sensory pleasures, beginning each day as soon as one "can plainly distinguish a white thread from a black thread by the daylight," and until darkness falls. The fast ends with a three-day festival called Eid al-Fitr.

It's all about redirecting one's attention "from a worldly existence to remembrance of God," said Zeinab Abdelgany, a fourth-year UC Berkeley double major at in Development and Middle Eastern studies and the first woman president of the Muslim Students Union. 

"It's a time to focus on leaving — not only food and drink — but bad habits and sin," Abdelgany said. "To focus on developing one's spirituality and good character. It's a time in which acts of kindness and generosity are especially encouraged and rewarded by God."

At mosques, Muslims make the daily prayers and break the daily fast. From Monday to Thursday, Abdelgany and her comrades break their fast at  in Berkeley.

The 30 days of inner reflection and personal denial 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.

Fasting is one of the “five pillars” of Islam, along with the declaration of faith, daily prayers, charity and pilgrimage to Mecca. Believers are encouraged to perform zakat, or donate to the needy.

“Every year you want to improve yourself,” said Dian Alyan, outreach director for the Muslim Community Association of the Bay Area. “You nurture the feelings of oneness with God, and that informs everything.” 

A virtuous Ramadan record can be undone by lying, slandering, denouncing people behind their back. But the most drastic offense is giving in to anger, Muslims say. Ramadan is considered a good time to heal wounds and bridge differences, and to treasure time spent with family.

“Even within the Muslim world, there are varying disagreements about how Ramadan should be practiced,” said Richmond’s Zuhair Sadaat.

For instance, "In my country, it would be a real feast," Alyan said. "Everybody would be cooking.” But the Indonesian-born mother of two young sons and her Egyptian-born husband have adjusted to a faster pace of living: She cooked ahead of time.

"We're all-Americans now," she said.