This month's feature introduces the Islamic tradition of Ramadan through an interview between Catherine England, M. Ed., a Muslim American, and Lee Mozena, M.A. Catherine and Lee co-present on seminars about Islam specifically designed to increase cross-cultural knowledge and skills at work.
Lee: Like many non-Muslim North Americans I didn't used to know anything about Ramadan. It seems that since 9/11, Ramadan has been in the press and awareness has increased among the general public. For those of us who don't know about Ramadan, can you tell give me a brief overview?
Catherine: Ramadan is the name for the month of fasting. The Ramadan fast is one of the five pillars of Islam. It's an important and very special time for most Muslims around the world. In addition to fasting, most Muslims also try to read the entire Quran during this month. Extra prayers are made after the nighttime prayer and in the early morning hours.
Fasting is a spiritual exercise but during Ramadan Muslims have the opportunity to deepen their connection to Islam, their family, their community and the world. In addition to the spiritual aspect, Muslims believe that fasting is a chance for us to experience, however briefly, the suffering that the truly poor experience on a daily basis.
Muslims fast from sun up to sun down during Ramadan. This includes not drinking fluids. In addition to abstaining from food and drink, Muslims also ‘fast' from any form of bad behavior – anger, gossip, etc. We get up before the morning prayer at sunrise to eat and drink enough to sustain us throughout the day. Children, the elderly, sick, or pregnant women are not required to fast.
Lee: Like other religions, fasting is one way to deepen a commitment to God or reach a higher spiritual place. Depriving ourselves of earthly pleasure brings clarity. Is fasting the only obligation during Ramadan?
Catherine: Zakat, or Zakah means charity. This is another pillar of Islam that is emphasized during Ramadan. People who have no food can go to the masjid, (mosque) nightly during the month to break their fast. It's a community celebration, especially at the beginning and end of Ramadan. Before the month ends, those who are financially able make a charitable contribution for each member of their household. These contributions are distributed to the poor before the month ends.
Lee: Fasting and late nights would be hard on me. Is it fair to say my Muslim friends and co-workers are more stressed during Ramadan?
Catherine: Yes, Ramadan can be quite a challenge, especially in the Northwest when the days are long. Ramadan begins and ends based on the lunar calendar so it's slowly moving towards the summer months. For those farther north, exceptions are made and they fast according to the nearest, normalized location.
Lee: I've heard about ‘Ramadan Burnout' . Can you elaborate?
Catherine: Every observant Muslim knows about ‘ Ramadan Burnout' , but we don't complain about it! It's similar to what our Christian friends experience by New Years or the end of Lent. While there is a stronger emphasis on familial and social obligations during Ramadan, families vary a great deal as to how much they participate outside the home. Some Muslims will go to the masjid most nights during Ramadan. They will break fast with a group meal that goes on for many hours. It can mean a lot of socializing (a wonderful but sometimes tiring aspect). You can imagine, with getting up before dawn, the lack of sleep takes a toll.
Lee: I have so much respect for people who party without alcohol! What kinds of issues should non-Muslim managers or personnel be aware of during Ramadan?
Catherine: The point of Ramadan is inward worship, not to call attention to how hungry and tired you are. Muslim employees may not ask for accommodations around Ramadan, but you might want to consider the additional demands on their time outside of work. It could be helpful, for example, to give more notice on deadlines, or just check in with them to see how they are doing.
Some practical things to think about are: not putting someone on the spot about food or drink (water, coffee, etc.) if you know they are fasting. Be aware of office potlucks or business luncheons. Not having meetings or calling Muslim employees at sundown as they are about to break fast is another. Hold critical meetings first thing in the morning when you know they are more refreshed.
Lee: It may be hard for an American, who views religion as highly personal, to understand the increased pressures and obligations towards family and community that a devout Muslim employee might be experience during Ramadan. For instance, I had a highly-assimilated, normally non-observant Muslim friend who would not drink alcohol during Ramadan. To her, this was respecting Ramadan.
Catherine: That's an example of how broad the degree of adherence to Islam is in the world-wide Muslim community. Alcohol is prohibited in Islam. However, to think that all Muslims believe or act in one particular way is not a realistic view of human nature. There are Muslims who only ‘show up' once a year, just like the Christians who only attend church at Christmas and Easter or Jews who only attend temple for Roshashana or Passover. But when those holidays roll around, priorities may shift. Even less observant Muslims may have more family commitments or do a partial fast.
Lee: How and when does Ramadan end?
Catherine: With the sighting of a new moon we break fast and hold a celebration called Eid-el-Fitr. Eid is an all community event celebrating the completion of Ramadan. We gather for a final prayer. While exact numbers are hard to pin-down, estimates put as many as 75,000 Muslims in the Puget Sound area - and that number is growing fast. Eid used to be held in local masjids and now even Qwest Field (Seattle's football stadium) is not big enough!
Lee: I assume that to some extent, Muslims also celebrate like most people--with open wallets. Is there an Islamic equivalent to the Christmas shopping season?
Catherine: No, but businesses should get on board about this one. While not quite as commercialized yet, most Muslims celebrate Eid with new clothes and gifts. And, considering the strains of fasting, shopping is often put off to the last minute. If malls stayed open until midnight on Eid they would make a ton of money!
Lee: Thanks for such wonderful information. It sounds tacky to say “Happy Ramadan” – is there an Islamic way to end our discussion?
Catherine: “Happy Ramadan” is perfectly welcome! We might also hug and say, “I hope to see you again, my friend, ‘In- shall-ah'” (God- willing!). The essence of Islam is peace, so we greet and depart with a version of the word, “Salaam ”.
To schedule a seminar or consultation contact Ms. Mozena at 206/368-9608 or mozena13@hotmail.com.
Copyright 2007 All rights reserved.
Calendar of Events
Upcoming events:
November 7-10, 2007 SietarUSA 8th Annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research in the United States of America (SIETAR-USA) is an educational membership organization for those professionals who are concerned with the challenges and rewards of intercultural relations.
Celebrations & Recognition:Islamic Year 1428 H.
Islamic Month |
Gregorian Dates |
Ramadan |
September 13 - October 12, 2007 |
Shawwal |
October 13 - November 10, 2007 |
Dhul-Qi'dah |
November 11 - December 10, 2007 |
Dhul-Hijjah |
December 11, 2007 - January 9, 2008 |
New at EDS
Donna M. Stringer and Andy Reynolds will be teaching a session on Increasing Individual and Group Effectiveness Through Conducting Courageous Conversations at this year SietarUSA 8th Annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri from November 7-10, 2007
In addition, Andy Reynolds, form EDS Vice President and currently on the board of directors, will be inaugurated as President of Sietar at this year's conference. Congratulations Andy, we wish you the best in your upcoming endeavors!
Annual Retreat! EDS will be attending our annual strategic planning retreat on November 1-5.
Iman (born July 25, 1955 in Somalia as Iman Abdulmajid) is a super model based in the United States.
Yusuf Islam (born July 21, 1948) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, educator, philanthropist and prominent convert to Islam who was known as Cat Stevens from 1966 to 1978.
Fazlur Khan - structural engineer (designed the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center )
Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) - founder of Grameen Bank and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Yunus, through Grameen Bank, created a new category of banking by granting millions of small loans to poor people with no collateral—helping to establish the microcredit movement across the developing world. Autobiography: “Banker to the Poor”.
Ahmed H. Zewail - is an Egyptian American scientist, and the winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry (a science that studies chemical reactions on extremely short timescales, approximately 10–15 seconds).
Data Dump (Did You Know?)
• Many people mistakenly assume 'Muslim' and 'Arab' are interchangeable. Many Arabs are Christian. There are two million Christian Arabs—mainly Orthodox and Roman Catholic—living in the U.S.
• The majority of Muslims in the world are not Arab. In fact, Indonesia, in Southeast Asia, is the largest Islamic country in the world. Millions of Muslims live in such non-Arab areas as India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
• There is no worldwide leader of Islam, or even the major branches of the religion. In addition, imams and other local leaders serve different functions from most pastors and rabbis and often focus most of their work on interpreting Islamic law. Because there is no central authority, theological and legal interpretations can vary by region, country or even from mosque to mosque.
• After Muhammad's death in 632 C.E., followers disagreed about who should succeed him, causing Islam to split into two major branches: Sunni and Shiite.
• Sufism is a mystical tradition in Islam that includes both Sunnis and Shiites. It is known for poetry (by such writers as the 13th-century Persian writer Rumi), worshipful dancing (such as whirling) and music.
Kudos for Best Practices for Diversity
Kudos for this quarter's newsletter goes to The Global Diversity Network (GDN). The GDN comprises a group of leading, globally-focused companies who share a practical mission to accelerate the effective integration of diversity and inclusion into their global organizations and to demonstrate the business value of that integration. Companies active in this field wanted a quality of connection with other diversity leaders which could help them make smarter, faster progress. The consortium of multinationals is committed to global diversity best practices and launched a global benchmarking tool designed to measure diversity results--and not just process--by starting with this basic question: How are we doing, and what kind of progress are we making versus our competitors?
The benchmarking tool constructs the ideal organization based on 14 goals which demonstrate successful implementation of change. These goals are grouped into four areas: workforce composition, working culture, sensitivity to external stakeholders and measuring impact on business performance. For more information visit here.
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Young, Muslim and British....in their own words
“There's this view that there's an older man sitting somewhere making all the decisions, but in a truly Islamic society the youth would be listened to, they would be at the forefront of what's happening. People don't understand that about Islam.” Rukshana Ali, 22, is a pediatric nurse and chairwoman of Muslimaat, Nottingham
“Muslim women continue to be discriminated against especially when it comes to employment. Frankly, it appears that in some cases they miss out on some opportunities [because they don't show] off their flesh. We would like to see Muslim women being able to progress in society without having to compromise on their religion.” Hasan Abdullah, 21, is a software engineering student, Great Britain
“I feel there is a duty for people to participate in political life in Britain . This is my home and I want to have a say in how it is run. I am a fully fledged member of this society. Government makes a lot of decisions for us and we need to influence those decisions.” Rajnaara Akhtar, 25, is a law student from Leicester
“You can't legislate to make people more integrated. Equally you can't blame people who are seen as different. It just takes time and interaction. Economic opportunity is the best way for people to be integrated and that is driven by housing, transport and so on. I think it will happen over time.” Lorraine Hamid, 28, is a government economist from London
http://www.guardian.co.uk/islam/voices/0,,1360343,00.html
Reel Reviews
Inside Islam: While Islam is the second largest of the world's great religions, and the fastest growing, it is also the most misunderstood. Inside Islam lifts the veil of mystery surrounding this faith as it traces its roots back to Abraham and other revealed scripture, and examines how the Five Pillars, the religion's central tenets, helped spread Islam to the far corners of the world. It also looks at what the Qu'ran says about war, violence and suicide, and how these words have been co-opted by extremists, as well as views from scholars such as Khaled Abou el Fadl (author of Speaking in God's Name), who explore the various challenges facing Muslims today. A multi-faceted, illuminating introduction to a much misunderstood faith.
Islam for Dummies by Malcolm Clark (2003) -- While I don't tend to be a big fan of “idiot's” & “dummies” titles, when it comes to Muslim worship it aptly fits me. This book was recommended to me by the trainer and interviewer in our feature article. And I now recommend this insightful guide to you, our reader. “Whether you live or work alongside Muslims and want to relate to them better, or you simply want to gain a better understanding of the world's second largest religion, Islam for Dummies can help you make sense of this religion and its appeal.” Happy reading!
Feedback & Referrals
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