Though Mahboob Akhter’s grandchildren are not of the age of people who traditionally fast during Ramadan, they’ve decided to try it as a way to sense what other Muslim children who live in Gaza are feeling, their grandfather said.
Ramadan is a monthlong holy period about to start during which Muslims around the world reflect on God’s blessings through intense prayer and dawn-to-dusk fasting. Typically, the night meal after sunset is a time for families and friends to gather, but in light of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the resulting humanitarian crisis Palestinians in the besieged Gaza territory are experiencing, several Southern California Muslims said their observances will be more subdued, making gathering more spiritual than festive.
“There is a serious impact that the whole world is feeling,” said Akhter, co-chair of the community engagement team for the Orange County Islamic Foundation in Mission Viejo, adding that his grandchildren have been paying close attention to the war.
“Because of what is going on,” he said, “our happiness is very tempered.”
Muslims forgo food and liquids between sunrise and sunset, using the time to reflect on what they’ve been given and to be thankful for that by practicing moderation, he said. Fasting helps Muslims get closer to God and feel what it is like to be deprived of his blessings.
“It’s a time when you reflect on how to control your emotions like anger and happiness,” Akhter said. “One gets to practice the real aspects of humanity, and fasting helps a person to become more moderate.”
Ramadan will be especially emotionally difficult for people in Southern California who have relatives living in Gaza where Palestinians have been left without food, water and medical supplies amid the fighting, said Akhter, adding many also grieve lost relatives. “And, some people like me have friends I don’t hear from. It affects all of us directly and indirectly. The joy isn’t…
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