Mount Pleasant Muslims gather to revere the final days of Ramadan

The holiest month of the Islamic calendar will come to an end this week.

According to the Muslim tradition, Ramadan is the month the prophet Muhammad began his revelations of the Quran. They’re traditions that even hit home for some in the community.

Muslims celebrate the month, which began Aug. 11 this year, with fasting and prayer. After an early breakfast before dawn, Muslims spend the rest of the day abstaining from food and drink until sundown.

Ahmed El Gammal, a temporary professor of Arabic at CMU, serves as president of the Islamic Center, 907 McVey St. He said the fast teaches not only personal discipline, but also creates awareness to the experiences of those who live every day without food.

“It gives us a sense of how people can be hungry and to feel the suffering of the needy,” El Gammal said. “You get thirsty by the end of the day, but after the first couple of days you get used to it.”

THE MOSQUE

The Islamic Center started in the 1970s as a house where a handful of students gathered. Today, the center serves as the only mosque in Mount Pleasant.

“Technically any space that’s dedicated for Muslims to worship is a mosque,” said Hugh Halman, an assistant professor of philosophy and religion. “The word ‘mosque’ means a place where people prostrate.”

The Mosque is predominantly Sunni, a branch of Islam.

El Gammal said most of the attendees are, like he once was, international students and graduate students. Counting families with children, attendance ranges from 50 to 70 people.

“In Islam we like privacy between men and women,” said Adil Chowdhury, an engineer who came from Bangladesh 12 years ago. “To be shoulder to shoulder and toe to toe, it symbolizes unity, that there is no gap … Because of our desire to keep it formal, that would be a contradiction when you have men and women together.”

Rachid Sadir serves as the volunteer Imam. While praying, he wears a Galabia — a long shirt as part of Islamic tradition. Sadir is originally from Morocco and came to study English.

Ramadan is a much bigger celebration in his home country.

“Everybody in Morocco celebrates the same thing,” Sadir said. “People over there will pour out into the streets with foods and group dinners.”

The celebration of Ramadan takes place during the last week on what is called “Laylat al-Qadr” or the Night of Power. It is believed to be the first night that Muhammad began receiving his revelations. During this time, Muslims focus harder on praying and doing good, and have a large feast.

A MOUNT PLEASANT MINORITY

Although Islam is recognized as the fastest growing religion in the world, Muslims are considered a minority group in Mount Pleasant.

Halman said Muslims in Mount Pleasant are a community despite being relatively few in number.

“Nobody interferes or bothers you unless they want to ask you a question in a friendly way,” Akram Almohalwas said.

Almohalwas came to America from Jerusalem seven years ago. He just received his Ph.D. in Mathematics at CMU and is leaving to teach statistics at UCLA next week.

One thing Almohalwas does not appreciate is how he feels American media portrays Muslims.

“Sometimes it feels like the media can turn people against Muslims because a lot of the news seems like propaganda,” he said, “But some reporters really listen to you and they just want to write to what you are saying.”

Although he agreed media could sometimes paint a one-sided picture of Islam, El Gammal remembered with gratitude how people had reacted to his faith after Sept. 11, 2001. Different Mount Pleasant churches rallied to make sure that the Muslim community was supported and defended.

Ramadan ends Sept. 9, but the Islamic faith in Mount Pleasant is here to stay.

“There’s some cultural differences, but that’s the beauty of the United States: the diversity,” Zalt said