Test of Faith : Muslims Begin Ramadan Month of Fasting by Day

GARDEN GROVE — Ten-year-old Shumiala Ahmad wore a small printed sign Friday that said: “I am fasting! Please help me remember not to eat or drink.”

For Shuiala, the sign is a helpful reminder, explained her mother, Yasmeen Ahmad of Anaheim, and a plea to her schoolmates at Orange Crescent School, a private school for Muslim children in Garden Grove, to help her fast during the Muslims’ monthlong observance of Ramadan.

Last year, Shuiala wasn’t that keen on having to spend an entire day without eating.

“She started out OK,” the girl’s mother said. “But she couldn’t get past 2 p.m. when another kid said, ‘Do you want some pizza?’ The sign is to help her out this year.”

On Friday, the first day of Ramadan, Shuiala and her mother joined more than 2,000 other Muslims from throughout Orange County who attended a prayer service at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove, which is adjacent to the girl’s school.

Ramadan is a monthlong observance of the Muslim tenet of the revelation of spiritual doctrine from Allah to the prophet Mohammed in 611. That revelation began the message that Mohammed would compile into the Koran, the holy book of Islam.

It’s a sacred time for the estimated 25,000 Muslims living in Orange County to renew their devotion to Allah, said Muzammil H. Siddiqi, the religious director at the Islamic Society, one of the largest mosques in Southern California.

Orange County also has prayer offices in Santa Ana, Fullerton, Anaheim, Lake Forest and Irvine, Siddiqi said.

For 29 days, Muslims will fast daily from two hours before sunrise until just after sundown. During the fast, they must abstain from food, drink and smoking. Each night, immediately after the sun has set, families or larger groups celebrate the end of the day’s fast with food and prayers.

Muslim leaders believe that fasting teaches self-discipline and independence from desires and material things, and promotes a closeness to Allah.

Ramadan will end Feb. 9 with a large celebration tentatively planned for Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley, Siddiqi said.

Siddiqi said that children are only encouraged to fast and are not obligated to do so until they reach at least the age of 10.

During the holy month, Muslims also are supposed to be conscious of their behavior, said Mohammed Abrahim, 40, of Garden Grove.

“You have to never lie or cheat,” Abrahim said, “and you should try to do something good for your neighbor, whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim. We have to show what Islam is, and what it stands for to other people.

“Ramadan to me,” Abrahim said, “not only means for us to fast, but it’s a chance to gather in prayer with other Muslims and a chance to renew my devotion. Like batteries, a chance to recharge my Iman, or faith.”

The society has done a survey which found that its worshipers come from 21 countries, including Myanmar, formerly Burma, numerous states in India and also Vietnam and Cambodia.

Aqil Rajput, 52, of San Clemente, who is the society’s secretary, was born in India but has lived in Orange County since 1955.

In the county’s earlier days, Rajput said fasting was a concept not easily acceptable by non-Muslims.

“At first it was difficult. People looked at you funny because I think they just didn’t understand,” Rajput said. “But it’s becoming more and more accepted nowadays as people learn more about the religion.”