Ramadan begins amid trying times for observant Muslims

Ramadan, the holiest and typically the happiest month of the year for Muslims, starts Friday night, but this year it comes amid trying times for the faithful.

A presidential campaign during which Republican candidate Donald Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States was followed by Trump, as president, signing an executive order to impose a partial ban on entry from certain Muslim-majority countries — a ban thus far halted by federal courts.

Then came Monday night’s bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, by a suicide bomber with terrorist ties.

It was the last thing a beleaguered and worn-down Muslim community needed as it prepares for Ramadan — another round of defending themselves against people who attack their religion as promoting terrorism, mosque leaders said.

“This last year has been incredibly difficult for the Muslim community,” said Dr. Isma Chaudhry, president of the Islamic Center of Long Island, a major mosque in Westbury. “The Muslim community has to pay the price of a group of thugs who hijacked the religion.”

“It’s a community that doesn’t have to keep proving themselves that they are patriots,” she added. “They love America.”

Chaudhry said she sent a statement from the mosque to the mayor of Manchester declaring its members were “horrified” by the attack and that Islam “strictly condemns extremism and the use of violence and the taking of human life.”

Dr. Yousuf U. Syed, a trustee of the Islamic Association of Long Island, a mosque in Selden that is among the region’s oldest, said it is up to all Muslims “to eradicate misconceptions” about their faith.

“We are hurting our hearts and souls” by allowing falsehoods to be spread, Syed said. Of the terrorist attacks, he said, “Even animals would not do what they are doing.”

Ramadan, which starts Friday at sunset and ends June 24 at sunset, is one of the five pillars of Islam — the largest religion in the world after Christianity and the fastest-growing major religion. The holy month commemorates the time when the Prophet Muhammad received the Quran, the holiest book in Islam, from the angel Gabriel in the year 610.

The holy month is observed by many of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, including about 80,000 on Long Island. The date of Ramadan changes every year because it is based on the lunar calendar.

Each day, the faithful fast from dawn to dusk. They also engage in charity, self-reflection and making amends with those whom they have offended.

Nayyar Imam, president of the Long Island Muslim Alliance, said most non-Muslim Americans know so little about Islam that they are astonished followers do not eat or drink for the entire day for a month. This year, that will mean up to 16 or 17 hours of fasting because of the long days.

“They are shocked,” Imam said. “How can you do that?”

After breaking the fast around 8:30 p.m., Muslims attend prayer services at their mosques, which start about 10 p.m. and last until nearly midnight. During this time, the entire Quran is read out loud, one chapter a night.

After a little sleep at home, the faithful are up by 3 a.m. or so, to grab a quick bite and return to the mosque for the first prayer of the day at about 4:30 a.m.

Despite the difficulties of the past year, some Muslims are hopeful their situation will improve. They believe Trump has toned down his rhetoric and is learning more about the community, especially after his trip to Saudi Arabia last weekend.

“His tone has changed,” said Imam, a pharmacist. “I hope he will realize all Muslims are not bad.”