Islam

Muslims Celebrate End of Ramadan

December 26, 2000

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On December 26, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that on December 27, Muslims would celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, the "feast of fast-breaking," which "marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset." They chose the 27th because the holiday is not declared until the new moon is sighted, which would happen Wednesday. "The festivities can continue for three days, with the large communal prayer on the first day...Girls decorate their hands with intricate henna designs, women sing and dance...

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Technology Changes Muslim Tradition of Moonspotting

December 26, 2000

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 26, 2000, The Boston Globe reported on a tradition known as moonspotting, during which Muslims, "since the days of Muhammed,...scan the sky for the slender crescent of a new moon that signals an end to the fasting of Ramadan." Ramadan marks the period when the Koran was supposed to have been revealed to the prophet Muhammed. "It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the end of Ramadan to Muslims. After a month in which Muslims do not eat, drink, or have sex from sunup to sundown, the new moon signals...

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Ramadan Helps Bring Orthodox Muslims And Nation Of Islam Followers Together

December 23, 2000

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On December 23, 2000, The Houston Chronicle reported that Ramadan is a way for orthodox Muslims and followers of the Nation of Islam to bury their differences. "Orthodox Muslims have long spurned Nation of Islam followers as 'not real Muslims,' for - among other reasons - insisting on observing Ramadan in December instead of when it descends according to the lunar calendar...But Nation of Islam founder, the late Elijah Muhammad, justified the December fast by explaining that the group's members were not 'mature enough in...

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Anti-Arab Jewish Group Outsmarts Law

December 19, 2000

Source: The New York Times

On December 19, 2000, The New York Times reported on the Rabbi Meir Kahane Memorial Fund, which was established in memory of "the radical Brooklyn Jew and Israeli politician who was assassinated" 10 years ago. The fund supports the "political and religious activities in Israel" of Kahane's son Binyamin, who has "been associated with terrorist groups." Members of the Kahane political organizations "are still seen organizing anti-Arab demonstrations and handing out literature." In 1995, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai...

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Denver Athlete Fasts For Ramadan While Maintaining Performance In The Game

December 19, 2000

Source: The Denver Post

On December 19, 2000, The Denver Post reported that while it may seem like Ramadan fasting is responsible for Denver Nuggets' athlete Tariq Abdul-Wahad's flu, he insists it is not. He says that during his first three years in the NBA, he never lost any weight during Ramadan. This year, however, he has lost weight and he blames it on the flu. Since most games are at night, fasting is not a problem, since the fast is broken at sunset. Nuggets rookie center Mamadou N'diaye, also a Muslim, said Abdul-Wahad has helped him "grow in his...

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Christian Finds Personal Meaning In Ramadan

December 18, 2000

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On December 18, 2000, The Christian Science Monitor reported on a Christian and her appreciation of Ramadan. She focuses on fasting, because it requires self-restraint. As she understands it, fasting is a way for people to turn away from materially satisfying the physical body and instead, turn to spirituality, to "a realm beyond the physical and to the home of the perfect and divine." She believes that the spirituality emphasized during Ramadan is not restricted to one religion or only one time of the year. In a...

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American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

December 14, 2000

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On December 14, 2000, the St. Petersburg Times reported that Ramadan fasting is tough for athletes, especially when they become dehydrated. Rabih Abdullah is one such example. "Coaches like to talk about mental toughness and willpower, about sacrifice and commitment. Well, they need to look no further than Rabih. He is all of those things, a man of faith playing a game grounded in fear and brutality...It's challenging enough, but it can be tricky for the handful of professional and collegiate athletes who follow the Koran....

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American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

December 14, 2000

Source: The Plain Dealer

On December 14, 2000, The Plain Dealer reported that "about 40,000 Muslims throughout Northeast Ohio are in the midst of Ramadan, a month of fasting and reflection that commemorates Allah revealing Islam's holy book, the Koran, to the prophet Mohammed. Among the faithful are scores of new immigrants who have come from countries where Ramadan is as deeply ingrained in the culture as Christmas is among Americans. For them, maintaining their schedule of prayers and keeping the traditional sunrise-to-sunset fast presents new challenges...

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American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

December 10, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 10, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "during the month of Ramadan, two Muslim teenagers on the Magnolia High School basketball team have to execute something tougher than a crossover dribble: playing hoops in the afternoon after going all day without food or water. Talal Trablci and Khalid Khoudari, who play on the freshman-sophomore team in Anaheim, won't be alone in competing on an empty stomach. Hundreds of Muslim high school athletes, sprinkled on teams throughout Southern California, face the same...

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American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

December 10, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 10, 2000, Los Angeles Times reported that "during the month of Ramadan, two Muslim teenagers on the Magnolia High School basketball team have to execute something tougher than a crossover dribble: playing hoops in the afternoon after going all day without food or water. Talal Trablci and Khalid Khoudari, who play on the freshman-sophomore team in Anaheim, won't be alone in competing on an empty stomach. Hundreds of Muslim high school athletes, sprinkled on teams throughout Southern California, face the same challenge:...

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American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

December 8, 2000

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On December 8, 2000, the St. Petersburg Times reported that Muslim students have developed tactics for surviving the day without food during Ramadan. " 'We've all learned little tricks,' said Naveed Kamal, a 16-year-old senior in a private Muslim school, the Universal Academy of Florida. 'Eating yogurt, Gatorade and Power Bars at suhur helps.' 'Gyro meat is especially long-lasting,' said 15-year-old Ossama Elsham, a fellow student. Both also attend classes at USF. Muslims worldwide, including 5.5-million in the United States,...

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American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

December 8, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 8, 2000, The Los Angeles Times reported that "an Islamic holiday display now shares a patch of grass in Mission Viejo with Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus, marking what Muslim leaders say is the first time in California that the holy month of Ramadan has received equal billing with Christmas on public space. The small billboard shows a photograph of the Kaaba--the central shrine of Islam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia--with a message: 'Season's Greetings.' A caption under the photo reads 'The First House of Worship on Earth.'...

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Anti-Jewish Attacks On The Rise

December 6, 2000

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 6, 2000, The Boston Globe reported that "the Palestinian-Israeli battles that have convulsed the Middle East since late September have sparked the most intense wave of assaults on Jews and Jewish institutions worldwide since World War II, Jewish leaders say. In France, more than 50 synagogues have been attacked, some more than once, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of several organizations monitoring the events. Most assaults were fire bombings, but there also have been numerous stonings, targeting students...

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American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

December 4, 2000

Source: The Washington Post

On December 4, 2000, The Washington Post reported that "during Ramadan, which started on Nov. 27, Muslims don't eat or drink from the time the sun pops up until it slinks away at night...Every night, friends and family gather to break the fast at a really big meal called an iftaar. At the end of Ramadan, people have a huge party called an Id-al Fitr, which basically is a great time to fill up on sweets and open gifts. Thousands of Muslim children at schools around Washington are honoring this holy month. Younger kids don't have...

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