{"id":4905,"date":"2015-06-23T00:37:30","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T23:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=4905"},"modified":"2015-06-23T00:37:30","modified_gmt":"2015-06-22T23:37:30","slug":"uk-muslims-embrace-the-long-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/uk-muslims-embrace-the-long-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Muslims embrace the long fast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Iftar\"<\/a>Ali, a 20-year-old Muslim based in London, is diligently helping prepare the first iftar meal of Ramadan \u2013 but it is the hunger of the mosque congregation as whole, rather than his own, that is top of mind.
\nHe is standing in the Mahfil Ali mosque in Harrow, northwest London, which is housed in modest Portakabin-like buildings, a temporary arrangement while a new $12.6 million community centre is built next door.
\nThe rickety green-painted building seem a world away from the UK capital\u2019s vast, golden-domed Central Mosque that borders the leafy Regent\u2019s Park \u2013 but material grandeur is not, of course, what the Holy Month is all about.
\nFor Ali, who did not give his surname, a key part of Ramadan is being selfless. So this year he is helping prepare the meal that marks the end of the fast, rather than rushing to consume it.
\n\u201cI was always eating first; now I\u2019m helping first,\u201d he said.
\nIt is a spirit shared by many of London\u2019s million-plus Muslims, as mosque congregations swelled for Thursday\u2019s evening prayers as the first fasting day of Ramadan drew to a close.
\nMany spoke of both their determination to adhere to the long fast \u2013 which, due to the long summer days in the UK, extends to about 19 hours \u2013 as well as fostering links with their community, at a time of heightened hostility towards British Muslims.
\n\u2018Open the doors\u2019<\/strong>
\nMiqdaad Versi, a member of the executive committee of the Shiite Ithna’ashari Community of Middlesex (SICM), which runs the Mahfil Ali mosque, says community engagement is an especial focus during Ramadan.
\nThe mosque \u2013 which sees its congregation grow to about 300 a day during Ramadan \u2013 is hosting short TED-style talks every evening of the Holy Month.
\nScheduled speakers include the Reverend David Tuck, curate at the Parish Church of St Alban, and Dr Michael Hilton, rabbi of a nearby synagogue.
\n\u201cThat embodies who we are. We\u2019re not supremacists \u2013 we don\u2019t think we\u2019re better than everyone else\u2026 Our principle has always been to engage as much as possible,\u201d said Versi. \u201cWe think we can learn from it.\u201d
\nVersi, who is also Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, pointed to the mosque\u2019s interfaith activities, work with the homeless and support of a local food bank. Mahfil Ali is ostensibly a Shiite mosque but for many years leant its premises to a local Sunni congregation. \u201cWe believe it\u2019s the right thing to do, to open our doors,\u201d said Versi.
\nThis spirit has informed the design of a new, permanent centre to be built at the site of the Mahfil Ali mosque. As much a community centre as a mosque, the five-floor complex will house a gym, lecture theatre, interfaith room and restaurant \u2013 along with, of course, an Islamic prayer room.
\nThe Salaam Centre, set to open in 2018, is \u201crevolutionary\u201d among British mosques as it will be open to everybody, whether Muslim or not, said Versi.
\nFasting times<\/strong>
\nGiven Ramadan 2015 coincides with the June 21 summer solstice \u2013 the longest day of the year \u2013 there has been heated debate over fasting times.
\nFor London Muslims, the longest day will see the daily fast start at 2.40am and end at 9.24pm. Some UK Muslims will fast for more than 19 hours: In northerly Scotland, for example, the days are even longer; some Muslims have a different interpretation of when dawn starts, and start fasting earlier.
\nDr Usama Haswan, a Muslim academic from anti-extremism group Quilliam, sparked heated debate earlier this month when he said it would make more sense for UK Muslims to follow Makkah timings, as daylight lasts much longer in northern countries.
\nVersi said the topic was interesting \u2013 but he did not see many Muslims opting to fast for shorter periods.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not something that has mass support in the Muslim community at the moment,\u201d he said of Haswan\u2019s fatwa on fasting. \u201cSome people might argue that 12 hours in Saudi Arabia, in the heat, is harder than 17 [or more] hours here.\u201d
\nEast London Mosque<\/strong>
\nThere was little appetite for shorter fasts at the inner-city East London Mosque, located in the Whitechapel district on the other side of the UK capital.
\nLarger and more prominent than Mahfil Ali, the mosque attracts up to 10,000 worshippers each day over Ramadan.
\nSalman Farsi, communications officer at the East London Mosque, said members of the congregation are not generally welcoming Haswan\u2019s recommendation to break the fast while it is still light.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s no way the community will shorten their fasts because of convenience,\u201d he said. \u201cA 19-hour fast is not that tough. You do get hot and bothered, but it\u2019s manageable. In places like Norway, they follow London times because sometimes the sun never sets.\u201d
\nThe East London Mosque is hosting Ramadan gatherings, charity fundraisers, and daily iftar meals for about 600 people.
\nFarsi said local homeless people sometimes come in to the mosque for a free meal. Members of the congregation do not object, partly because fasting makes them more understanding of the plight of the homeless.
\n\u201cThe people here can emphasise,\u201d he said. \u201cThe wider spirit of Ramadan is to share Ramadan, even with your non-Muslim colleagues.\u201d
\nIn some Muslim countries, those found publically eating and drinking during daylight hours over Ramadan face severe penalties, sometimes including fines or jail terms.
\nBut in the UK, life goes on as normal for the non-Muslim majority. In Whitechapel, one of the more rough-and-ready London districts, daytime brings a sensory overload from bustling takeaway joints, people eating and drinking on the street, and the open doors of pubs.
\nFarsi said he wouldn\u2019t have it any other way. For him, stepping out of the mosque and seeing other people eating and drinking is all part of the Ramadan experience. \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of it, that\u2019s where the real test lies,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a part of the fast. I wouldn\u2019t expect the shop shutters to be pulled down.\u201d
\nLondon Central Mosque
\nIn the expansive courtyard of the London Central Mosque, a group of men prepare for iftar, meticulously cleaning fruit and arranging trays of dates.
\nA man who identified himself as \u2018Chilli\u2019, in his 30s, said the golden-domed mosque marks a focal point for the diverse mix of London Muslims.
\nHe considers there to be strong deterrents to breaking the Ramadan abstinence, outlined in the Quran, and is certainly not going to try cutting the duration of his fast.
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019d have to be in an extreme situation, like in the Arctic, where the sun doesn\u2019t set.\u201d
\nBack at the Mahfil Ali mosque in Harrow, 59-year-old Mustapha said he felt calm despite approaching 19 hours without food or drink. He started this year\u2019s fast one day early \u2013 \u201cjust practicing\u201d, he jokes \u2013 but said the long daily duration was not overwhelming. \u201cI take it in my stride,\u201d he said.
\nAs iftar time arrives, worshippers break their fast with a humble date or two, and glass of water. After more prayers in the florescent-lit room, it is time for the main end-of-fast meal. Men sit on the floor in long rows, eating generous portions of fragrant curry and rice.
\nAli is still outside, helping with the food. He recalls bringing several of his non-Muslim friends to the mosque to show them what goes on. \u201cThey like it,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s friendly, and the food is nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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