EID MUBARAK! HAPPY EID!

Ramadan 2007: A Tribute for Ghandi's Peace Movement
Faith is the decisive element behind the greatness of Ghandiji. The new movie on him and others resonate the power of Faith. Yes, it's easy to say religion is an opium for the ignorant masses. And, while admittedly, wars have been waged by both religionists and atheists, at least Faith has brought an end to them wherever such souls like Ghandi, Muhammad, Jesus, Martin Luther and others bowed to the Power who created peace. These humble giants of Salam/Shalom refused the meal of violence during their lifelong Ramadan struggle against tyrannical ego, and in doing so, sanctified their sacrifice of spiritualized fasting on the altar of human brotherhood.

A FAST FIT FOR A KING
The Muslim boy answered, “Muslims fast on Ramadan because that is the month that Prophet Muhammad received the first verses of the Holy Koran. Fasting brings us closer to God and stimulates us to give charity to the hungry. Jews fast for one day because that is what the Torah requires of them. There is only one God. Jews and Muslims obey the same God, but God asks each religious community to do different things. God judges us according to how good we are in our own religion, not according to somebody else’s religion. The Holy Koran in surah 5 says, “If Allah had so willed, He could have made humans a single people, but He tests you in what He has revealed to you, so strive to compete in all virtues.” My father says that this is one of the most important teachings of the Koran for both Muslims and everyone else in todays world. Muslims fast everyday for the whole month of Ramadan, but only from sunrise to sunset. We can eat dinner after sunset and breakfast before sunrise. Jews have to go without food or drink for a full 24 hours on Yom Kippur. Each community must be faithful to its own religion

RAMADAN IN THE HEARTLAND
The Detroit suburb of Dearborn is where the Midwest meets the flavors of the Mideast. By Alia Yunis For most Americans, Detroit conjures up images of cars, the Motown sound, and perhaps even 8-Mile. If you�re an Arab-American, it...

Rumi and the Uncommon Denominator
Mahmood Sanglay Fasting is the first principle of medicine; fast, and behold the strength of the Spirit. Rumi The famous mystic, who now holds the title of the most widely read poet in America, touches on two fundamental truths: one, that physical health is connected to spiritual discipline and, two, that the physical exercise of the spiritual discipline brings forth the strength of the spirit. It is such a profound truth so simply stated. That is the wonder of Rumi who speaks universal truths in plain, unpretentious language. Rumi draws attention away from the beauty of language and instead draws greater attention to the meaning of his message. In poetry this works only if the meaning resonates deeply and powerfully with the reader. In eight hundred years Rumi has become a global phenomenon because the meaning of his message has touched people around the world. This is the universal quality of his work. His message goes beyond the boundaries of nationality, time, space, culture and even religion. Non-Muslims are attracted to Rumi because he reveals truths about humanity. He is a master of delivering the message of Islam in a most inclusive way so that non-Muslims appreciate the truth without being intimidated by its underlying Islamic ethos. Similarly, he delivers the truth in a way that compels Muslims to recognise that the truth cannot be limited to the boundaries of Islamic faith and practice. Truths are universal and belong to all people, irrespective of their faith. So when he speaks of fasting as a first principle in medicine he immediately connects the physical and the spiritual in a way that confronts the exclusivism of both religion and science. There is no sense in seeking spiritual health if one neglects physical health. The converse is also true. Rumi recognises the fundamental importance of nutrition to the body, and how the proper regulation of food intake can maintain physical health. However, he immediately qualifies this statement by adding that fasting is essentially a spiritual act designed to strengthen the spirit.

EID MUBARAK
All of us at MWU wish our readers a wonderful Eid....

One Walnut Hemisphere
By Mohja Kahf Half a cigarette tastes like four at the end of a day abstinent One walnut hemisphere, poured over with olive oil, is almost too much How could I have eaten such richness, undizzied, before? A spoonful of...

My First Ramadan
I was REALLY young when my parents allowed me to start fasting. I was five and we had just moved to Germany from Egypt a handful of months before Ramadan. My grandmother was visiting us (her first trip ever out of Egypt) and I was jealous that all the big people were fasting.

Blessings, Joy and Loneliness: Ramadan in America
The joys with which we humans are blessed are ever so sweeter in Ramadan. Yet for all-too-many people, Ramadan is distinguished for being a time when some Muslims remember their obligation to care for the hungry and destitute, only to fall back to selfishness, greed and self-righteousness the remainder of the year.

Solidarity Fast
• The NOWAR ARAB AMERICAN COMMITTEE is sponsoring a solidarity fast to say no to war and racism during the month of Ramadan. Please visit http://solidarityfast.blogspot.com for more information....

Ramadan Gog and Magog
By Mohja Kahf Editor's note: Professor Mohja has a new Ramadan poem for us. She likes the lines of her poems to appear just so. Better click on the link bellow and read it on a wider page....

Half-Day’s Delight
By Abd al-Hayy (Daniel) Moore My son at nine who fasts half-days says I should say how everything tastes special when we break the fast. “What a good idea!” I say. So here it is, on his young recommendation, first...

Drive Thru Iftar
By Pamela Taylor Every Tuesday and Thursday On the way from soccer to dance It’s drive thru iftar Bean burritos in paper wrap Fishwiches in cardboard cartons Ceasar salads in plastic boxes Soda and shakes in throwaway cups Disposable...

Jealous Lover
By Abd al-Hayy (Daniel) Moore The fast is also like being so racked with love you can’t eat. Tossed and wrenched and high and dry with single-minded devotion and expectation that no single bite or sip can pass our lips,...

Ready for Ramadan: A Mid-Shaaban Poem
By Mohja Kahf My palette is so overloaded, my tongue so freighted, forgetting its four basic tastes, corroded by plenty, lolling in fullness, letting the ease of receiving the blessing lull me in the sleep of the sated: I am...

Die Before You Die - Hadith of the Prophet
By Abd al-Hayy (Daniel) Moore We’re never far from the appetites of our body. Our senses are ready to spring at the slightest touch. We stand on the battlefield and survey the possible booty, but once collected, it then becomes...

Chosen
Hunger Pains. Photograph by Susan Crawford By Pamela K. Taylor It’s a choice This decision to go hungry To let belly lie empty throat unwetted plates abandoned stove unheated bread unbroken A privilege Seldom recognized A luxury Of affluence...

Delight My Diet
By Abd al-Hayy (Daniel) Moore Each year a segment of my time on earth turns dry and takes me to the far edge of my life I turn from food and drink and lust of eye (and making love in...

Bitter Wells
Desert, by Maya Kulenovic By Tiel Aisha Ansari A traveller walked along a desert track Surrounded by bare earth and bitter wells. Her water gone, there was no turning back Mirages shimmered, deadly shining spells. Past rocky hills where...

The In Utero Fasting Academy
Pregnant Purple, Oil on Canvas, by Harvey Taylor By Mohja Kahf I’m a graduate of fasting in utero If it damaged my brain, honey do let me know Exhibit B: My daughter, womb of ’89. She fine. Acing her...

Ramadan Kareem
By Mohja Kahf Ramadan is an annoying guest who comes too often and stays too long (“Him again? Isn’t it too early?”) but you can’t say so because he’s an old friend of the family, goes back a long way...

Waiting for Ramadan
By Pamela K. Taylor Sweet Ramadan Eagerly we await your approach Our noses itch With anticipation Of your perfume Sandalwood smoke curling in the musallah Biryani steaming in the oven Bread frying in the skillet Our tongues curl Tasting...

Praying for Pain: An American Muslim's Anguished Reflections on the Ramadan Battle of Fallujah
I am thinking of the terrified mothers of Fallujah and the worried military-moms all across the US. The “liberation” and “pacification” of Fallujah is going to be as transient as that of Samarra was. So why all this bloodshed? I ask myself.

Progeny
The last Night of Power when heaven, pregnant with consonants, gasped accent marks and gave birth.

Spooky Ramadan
By Ginan Rauf Think of Ramadan in Iraq. One thinks of Ramadan with a heavy heart. Think of the children in Iraq today and then think of how American children celebrate Halloween. Let’s get to the quick here—freedom means nothing...

Ramadan
Prayers given and later friends and family mill around, some content others tired, but all happy on this day of Ramadan

A Secular Muslim’s Take on Fasting During Ramadan (Don’t Forget Us)
Ever my father’s daughter I never fasted a day in my life. Live simply was his motto and he practiced it all year long. But he was no saint. And he never aspired to be.

The Month Of Warfare: Ramadan And The War Against Ourselves
Ramadan is usually seen as the most personal and spiritual of the pillars of Islam. This is so because it is God alone who sees whether or not a person is taking the discipline seriously or not. It is impossible that someone is watching you every moment of everyday to ensure that you are not sneaking a sip of water and nibbling on a falafel.