Ramadan and Unity

Islam is a complete region and Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) told us how to live a peace full life in the world. There are two things, on which we as muslims, should emphasis and should get knowledge of; one is peace and other is unity, both of these things are clearly indicated in the teachings of Islam, when talking about Ramadan, we need to understand and study the rules of Ramadan, according to the hadith of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), Abu Hurayrah ( radiyallaahu ’anhu ) related that the Prophet ( sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam ) said: "Fast when they fast, end the fast when they end theirs, and sacrifice the day that thy sacrifice. " [2]

Islamic scholars explained, this hadeeth by its sayings, Its meaning to fast and end the fast along with the Jamaa'ah and the majority of people." This hadeeth is a proof of the Prophet (pbuh) emphasizing on unity, in Ramadan and the celebrating of the EID festive, with all other muslims. This custom is very important in establishing the ’Eid festive, and that every individual,   who believes,in the revelence of this day, of ’Eid - based on the sighting of the moon. - It is then obligatory upon every muslim, to be in agreement with his or her fellow muslim and that the ruling of the people - concerning the Prayer, breaking the fast, and sacrificing - is binding upon that individual."

Another Islamic scholar, explained its meaning as It is said: In it is a refutation, of those scholars, whom say that whosoever, knows the positions of the moon sighting, is due to astronomical calculations, it is then permissible, for him to fast and end the fast, even if others do not know. It is also said: 'that the individual witness who sees the moon, but the qaadee (judge) has not accepted his testimony, and then there is no fasting for him, just as there is no fasting for the people." By the hadith and its meaning, which has been explained by different scholars, we can say that Islam is emphasizes on doing ‘MASHWARA’ or sitting together and solving the problem, this is how Ramadan the holy month, shows the unity in order to fast or to celebrate the Eid festive, which are the two most important occasions for Muslims.

Interfaith Dialogue with CAIR Philly

Please join me as I liveblog the "Dont 'Iraq' Iran" roundtable discussion at Villanova University. If anyone from the Philadelphia area would like to attend the event and join me in the life feed, please contact me and it can be arranged. I am also looking forward to your comments!

Also, I would love to know of any other interfaith and intercultural events that are happening in your communities!

In Peace!

Blogging Ramadan

The Ramadan Kareem blog had its start about 2 years back on a friday the 22nd of september 2006, It was based on an Idea by fellow bloggers who wanted to come together and have a common meeting place where they could share ideas, recipies and experiences from around the world about Ramadan. This was one of the first Ramadan Kareem related blogs where many people from different geographic locations and faiths came together to form a vibrant and harmonious community. I can proudly say that we have come a long way from our humble start and have come together in the way that we had imagined. Along the way we have gained more bloggers from around the world who share in our quest to educate the world about Islam in general and Ramadan in particular. We not only have muslim bloggers who are sharing their faith with the world but we have bloggers from other faiths who teach and learn at the Ramadan Kareem blog. This blog has been both entertaining and educational for all of us and we hope to continue on our mission in spreading the blessings of ramadan to everyone. This would not have been possible without the collabaration of the numerous bloggers who have participated actively by contributing and commenting on posts. I would also like to thank the visitors of this site who keep coming back and appreciate and encourage us to do what we have been doing.

Interfaith Iftar in Philadelphia

This is the third year that I have participated in an interfaith Iftar celebration here in Philadelphia. The idea sprung from a women's discussion group I started a few years earlier. Although the initial topics discussed revolved around race and ethnicity dentity formation, discussions often turned to interfaith issues. Regardless of the specific subject matter of the discussions, issues of contention always surrounded misconceptions, assumptions and lack of knowledge of the various spiritual tranditons represented. We initially organized an interfaith Lenten supper at a local Eastern Orthodox Church which took place on the Sunday of Forgiveness. We subsequently organized similar interfaith suppoers during Ramadan and Yom Kippur.

This year's Iftar was particularly powerful, as the focus was on forgiveness - from God, from each other and from ourselves!

Some of the things that emerged from discussions are:

• Forgiving oneself is the first step to forgiving others
• Open and honest communication is essential to asking and granting forgiveness
• Forgiveness comes from inner peace, resulting from knoledge and acknowledgement of the inner self
• Thhe Qu'ran calls uon people to know themselves and transform themselves before doing so with others.

Forgiveness and acceptance are fundamental tenants of Islam, Judaism and Christianity (as well as other non-Abramic faiths). Significant markers throughout our spiritual calendars are ideal moments to reflect on forgiveness in our own lives, as well as a time to put that forgiveness into action. A vital component to forgiveness is learning of each other's spiritual experiences and traditions. So, in that spirit, I would like to pose the following questions to the readers and other contributors to this blog:

What is the importance for you of sharing your experienced of faith with others?

In Peace,
Kathrin
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Kathrin was born in Bad Hersfeld, Hessen, Germany in 1980. Kathrin currently works as a freelance grant writer and presents on cultural diversity and transnational race relations. She is passionate about strengthening relationships between Afro German and Black German communities in the United States and Germany, as well as facilitating cooperation and support among other groups who are working to eradicate racism and improve opportunities for all People of Color. She also works as a translator, project coordinator and development officer for the Black German Cultural Society, Inc., and currently serves on their Board of Directors. Kathrin speaks fluent German, loves to read, spend time with her family and friends, and travel.