[Peace-discuss] AWARE agenda - Ramadan proposal

[C. G. Estabrook]

[The Muslim (lunar) month of fasting begins this weekend. Voices in the
Wildernes -- Kathy Kelly's group -- has suggesteed that some observance of
the Ramadan fast might be appropriate for anti-war groups as the US
continues to savage countries and kill peopple in southwest Asia. Their
statement is below.  --CGE]


RAMADAN 2003: A Statement of Voices in the Wilderness, Pax Christi USA
Teachers of Peace, Muslim Peace Fellowship and Fellowship of
Reconciliation

We invite and welcome individuals and groups from our networks to observe
all or part of the month of Ramadan in solidarity with our Muslim sisters
and brothers.

In the late fall of 2002, as a US-led invasion of Iraq seemed imminent and
as Iraqis endured a 13th year of brutally punitive economic sanctions,
Iraq Peace Team members witnessed Iraqi Muslim friends draw strength from
observing the month of Ramadan. We saw that Muslims who observe Ramadan
strengthen their community's resolve to practice forgiveness, to live
simply, to share resources better, and to understand better the plight of
those who have no choice over when they will eat or how much food they
will have. We also noted the joy inherent in gathering with family,
friends and neighbors to break fast and to share time with one another.
Ramadan this year runs from approximately October 26, 2003 to November 23,
2003.

At our request, Umm Haider, who is presently living in Chicago with
members of Voices in the Wilderness, told us of her own experience of
Ramadan. Umm Haider and her son, Mostafa are in the US for medical care.
On January 25, 1999, a US bomb hit her street, killing her eldest son. Her
surviving son, Mostafa, has shrapnel embedded in his backside and a
mutilated hand. Many Voices in the Wilderness delegation members have
received hospitality at her home in Basra, Iraq:

"Ramadan isn't about how much you eat or drink, it's an examination of the
faith inside of your soul. God said that 'your reward depends upon your
effort,' and that 'all the other months of the year are for the people,
but this one month is for me.' Ramadan is the best month to clean your
heart and soul. When you feel hungry you can remember the suffering of the
poor, who are usually hungry, and by remembering you can help them always.
Ramadan isn't just to forbid you from eating and drinking, it's to forbid
you from doing any bad thing. During Ramadan, Islamic activities increase,
like praying, reading from the Quran, and helping others. These activities
strengthen Islamic relationships because you must join with other Muslims.
There are a lot of traditional Ramadan habits. Families exchange food with
one another for the sunset meal (Iftar); this happened even during the
sanctions in Iraq. God rewards those people who feed those who don't have
food. We feel that Ramadan is like a religious festival; we buy many kinds
of food to serve during this month. We spend the time after Iftar praying
and reading from the Quran until midnight. Then we pray and read from the
Quran after the predawn meal (Sahur) until sunrise. We never feel tired
because we are doing the right thing."

During the upcoming season of Ramadan, we want to show a gesture of
respect and appreciation for Muslim brothers and sisters and to learn from
them. We welcome an opportunity to be in solidarity with Muslims who rely
on the month of Ramadan to help inculcate values of simplicity, service,
sharing, compassion and mercy. We recognize the need for these virtues in
our own lives. We invite you to join us in this effort of solidarity with
our Muslim brothers and sisters, as a shared prayer and action for peace
that depends on conversion from ways of injustice and reliance on war.
Attached to this statement is a list of suggested ways to share in this
effort.

Pax Christi Teachers of Peace, /signed/
Daniel Berrigan, SJ, New York
Roy Bourgeois, MM, Columbus, GA
Joan Chittister, OSB, Erie, PA
Peter Dougherty, Lansing, MI
Shelley and Jim Douglass, Birmingham, AL
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Detroit, MI
Mary Evelyn Jegen, SND, Cincinnati, OH
Kathy Kelly, Chicago, IL
Liz McAlister, Baltimore, MD
Kathy and Jim McGinnis, St. Louis, MO
Dianna Ortiz, OSU, Washington, DC
Helen Prejean, CJS, New Orleans, LA
Bill Quigley, New Orleans, LA
Louis Vitale, OFM, San Francisco, CA
Jonah House, Baltimore, MD
Rabbi Douglas Krantz, Armonk, NY
Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA
Muslim Peace Fellowship, USA
Voices in the Wilderness

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS May we suggest:

    * Find one or more people in your community who want to participate in
some way in the Ramadan fast and discern together the extent to which
individuals can commit. Some might wish to fast from food and water, from
sunup till sundown, for the entire month, as many Muslims do. Others may
commit to familiarizing themselves with Ramadan. Still others may choose
middle paths, e.g., fasting for one week during the month of Ramadan. The
intent of this call is to urge people to grow closer to our Muslim
brothers and sisters through whatever gesture of solidarity they can make
beginning October 26 and continuing through the following four weeks.
    * Visit www.islamicfinder.org to learn where there is a mosque or
masjid in your area. Contact leaders of the mosque to ask for their
assistance in learning more about their observance of the month of Ramadan
and to let them know of your own interests.
    * Plan at least once or twice a week to gather people from your
community to break fast after sundown and also to use the time to learn
more about events in the Middle East.
    * Plan at least one action during Ramadan, e.g., a two-day fast from
electricity, hosting a film about Iraq or the Middle East, or reaching out
to the local media to involve them in some aspect of your Ramadan
observance.
    * Plan to view or review "A Force More Powerful" to learn more about
nonviolent action for change.
    * Keep a diary and then visit the Voices in the Wilderness Ramadan
2003 bulletin board to share your writing with others.
    * We invite other organizations to endorse and circulate this call.

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