In the week leading up to the LA Muslimah Ramadan Market opening on Sunday, March 5 in Yorba Linda, founder Samreen Khan has had to battle the unusual weather in Southern California and tedious paperwork to ensure the market happens without a hitch.
Yet, she is willing to jump through administrative hoops because she believes this market is special and necessary for the Muslim community. The market, she said, is an opportunity for mostly Muslim women-owned businesses to showcase their products and have the community support them.
And Khan is not alone in thinking this way.
In the lead-up to Ramadan, women-led markets have been popping up to help families shop for decor, food, kids’ toys and books, and modest clothing, among other things, to prepare for the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.
In Mission Viejo, the Orange County Islamic Foundation, the local mosque, is hosting its annual bazaar on Saturday, March 11, organized by the Women’s Committee. And in Irvine, Shahzia Rahman and Lubna Saadeh are bringing the fifth edition of QuadM, a Ramadan market, on March 18-19.
During Ramadan, Muslims across the world fast from sunrise to sunset for 29 or 30 days, depending on when the crescent moon is sighted for the new month. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it is also a time for prayer and charity. Muslims believe that it was during Ramadan that God revealed the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad.
This year, Ramadan is expected to begin on Wednesday, March 22.
Rahman, an Irvine resident for more than 22 years before moving to Dallas in 2022, quit her job at Google when she became a mother in 2010. As her daughter became older, she wanted her to be around other Muslim kids so she started a play-based, parent-participation preschool at the local mosque. It was there that she met Saadeh, and their friendship blossomed.
In 2018, Rahman approached Saadeh with the idea of creating a market where small businesses could showcase their…
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