On April 23, a first for many, Muslim families began a month of fasting and praying late into the night without ever stepping foot in a masjid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Muslims\u2014like Athar Siddiqee\u2014are having to reimagine this highlight of the Islamic lunar year, the month of Ramadan, due to the indefinitely continuing shelter-in-place order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very strange unusual feeling that something\u2019s missing,\u201d Siddiqee said, lifelong Bay Area resident and board member of South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA). \u201cBecause when you go for the prayer it\u2019s not just the religious aspect that is involved, but rather the ability to reconnect with friends that you haven\u2019t seen since the prior week and meet others. There\u2019s a kind of camaraderie there that is very special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shelter-in-place halted Siddiqee\u2019s regular visits to the masjid and gave him new responsibilities to his community as Ramadan approached. Ramadan is observed by abstaining from food and drink while the sun is up, and increasing focus on prayer and spiritual practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Muslim-American culture often includes families breaking fast (iftar) together at the masjid or at home, and then going to the masjid for nighttime Taraweeh prayers with the community. However, congregational Taraweeh and Friday prayers have been cancelled until public spaces can reopen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have five daily prayers and the mosque, or masjid, is a place that many people in our community go to 35 times a week,\u201d Siddiqee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SBIA and other Bay Area masjids have shifted their Friday sermon and other programming to online live streaming services, and have actually seen an increase in attendance, Siddiqee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI guess the silver lining to all this is that this horrific virus isn\u2019t taking place in 1980, when we wouldn\u2019t have many options to have a remote access vehicle,\u201d Siddiqee said. \u201cBut rather in 2020 when we have technology that enables us to have more group phone calls or group video chats or other ways for people to be able to connect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
San Francisco resident Antonia Ford said she has been trying to make the most of sheltering-in-place and being able to practice her faith from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a Muslim in the workforce, one of the ways in which you\u2019re challenged on a daily basis is finding time and space to pray,\u201d Ford said. \u201cSo if you\u2019re at home you can pray on time, in your space, you can make wudu not worrying about people looking at you like a weirdo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ford said the shelter-in-place won\u2019t greatly affect the community aspect of her Ramadan, as she usually has iftar at home with her partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cAs a convert, community has always been something that\u2019s been difficult for me,\u201d Ford said. \u201cI\u2019ve of course found community in [the Muslim Student Association] when I was at SF State, but then since I\u2019ve graduated it\u2019s been tough to maintain relationships or form new ones with other Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ford said she has found community with Muslims online, and has been listening to Islamic podcasts and recorded khutbahs during the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven though I myself feel kind of at a loss as to why this is happening, I\u2019m just holding onto the idea of this is all part of God\u2019s plans,\u201d Ford said. \u201cI\u2019m really finding a lot of comfort in all the virtual resources that are out there to get religious content.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For SF State student Deena Abdelwahhab, Ramadan is a time for family gatherings and learning more about Islam. Despite being unable to practice their tradition of attending Taraweeh and Friday prayers, Abdelwahhab\u2019s family has tried to fill the gap by praying together at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe all have this one big family group chat … My uncle will record a khutbah and he\u2019ll send it in the group chat,\u201d Abdelwahhab said. \u201cAnd so we\u2019ll all listen to it and we\u2019ll pray, so I feel like that\u2019s what we\u2019re probably going to be doing during Ramadan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abdelwahhab said she typically visits her immediate aunts\u2019 and uncles\u2019 home for iftar multiple times a week during Ramadan, and attends one large iftar with extended family and friends from her village in Palestine, Beit Hanina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe rent out a big hall and they take turns making the food. I love Ramadan honestly because of that family connection that we get,\u201d Abdelwahhab said. \u201cBecause we don\u2019t do it throughout the whole year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the community may not be able to gather at the mosque for prayers and Ramadan traditions, they are still playing a key role in supporting each other\u2019s needs through the holy month and the shelter-in-place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have people who work in the service industry who were banking on being able to drive people around, or small businesses that have had to be shuttered, or their business has reduced significantly. Those folks are in financial trouble,\u201d Siddiqee said. \u201cFood is often a concern, hygiene, whether it be hand sanitizer or wipes etc. that aren\u2019t readily available in stores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SBIA is awaiting approval from the City of San Jose to open a free medical clinic, and is meanwhile partnering with Rahima Foundation, a local charity, to help provide food to the needy in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re prepared for this to be longer term and we\u2019re certainly counting on those members of the community who are able to continue their work, and continue to receive a paycheck, and others who might be better off than some of us to hopefully donate for the cause of the greater good,\u201d Siddiqee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for Eid\u2014the three-day celebration that marks the end of Ramadan\u2014masjids and will likely have to cancel congressional Eid prayers and festivities with the shelter-in-place order extended through May. SBIA holds Eid celebrations at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds, with over 7,000 people in attendance from all over the Bay Area coming to enjoy rides, food vendors, and the Eid bazaar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is a day where you\u2019re often seeing people that you won\u2019t the rest of the year,\u201d Siddiqee said. \u201cMaybe they live far away, and the only time you see them is at the fairgrounds. So that would be really heartbreaking for me personally as one of the leaders of the organization, not to be able to offer something we\u2019ve offered every year, twice a year, for the past 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many, Eid morning consists of breaking out a new outfit and attending Eid prayers at the mosque followed by public festivities and any family traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe might sit down and have a conversation about how we can recreate that experience at home in an intentional way that\u2019s meaningful,\u201d Ford said. \u201cAnd look to the Quran, look to the hadith, figure out what would be the most sunnah way to celebrate it, which actually now that I\u2019m thinking about it … in some ways, I feel like that\u2019s something we should do no matter what.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
*Editor\u2019s note: Noor Baig is a journalism students in SF State\u2019s Journalism 575 Community Media this spring. Taught by professor Jon Funabiki, the class is a collaboration with El Tecolote. On April 23, a first for many, Muslim families began a month of fasting and praying late into the night without ever stepping foot in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":43646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[18556,18588],"coauthors":[18593],"class_list":["post-43595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-covid-19-en","tag-jour-575","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n