Ramadan came this year during our Faiths Act Fellows training in Tanzania. Each morning, we would rise between 4 and 4:15 a.m. to sit outside in the stillness of East Africa and eat our breakfast. “We” in this case was Hafsa Arain (Muslim), Nadeem Javaid (Muslim), Amy McNair (Christian), and me. People tend to be a little goofy in the middle of the night; we were no exception. I remember those mornings as unusually gigglesome affairs, as we did our best to chew up greasy chapati (tortillas), green bananas, and cold mandazi (fried dough-cakes). When we returned to Chicago, we kept it up, meeting in the morning with Fellows from the other Africa teams.
Now, each year, I spend a few days during Ramadan fasting. I’m not a Muslim. Fasting for me happens during Lent (I am a Catholic). However, this was the first time that I’ve fasted during Ramadan around other Muslims. It was an eye-opening experience, for two important reasons:
1. Amy McNair, a Faiths Act Fellow from Seattle/southern California, is a very committed Christian. She chose to fast this Ramadan with her new Muslim friends Hafsa and Nadeem. I watched her forgo food AND water during the daylight hours for 30 days before we parted. Sure, she complained a few times (who wouldn’t!), but she never once treated her fasting as a flippant exercise. And she didn’t miss a chance to engage the Muslims on our team with Ramadan-related questions. Furthermore, I ended my fast a few days after returning to the United States due to a short sickness; Amy never once gave me guff for “quitting”, as it were. Her dedication to fasting alongside Muslims was inspiring and humbling. She reflects on her experience on her blog.
2. I’m not a stranger to denying myself food. I do so during Lent, although I definitely don’t give up water (or tea, for that matter), and I drank both during this Ramadan. What made this year different was that I was fasting around Muslims who knew that I was fasting (for some reason, I’ve never publicized it). I know why I fast during Lent, but I was never quite sure exactly why I was fasting along with Muslims. It just so happened that Pritpal, a Sikh, asked me, “Tim – why are you fasting during Ramadan? You’re a Catholic, not a Muslim.”
…
I didn’t have an answer for her. It had never occurred to me to explain to myself, let alone an outside audience, why I fast during Ramadan. I flubbed the first few responses with what sounded like generic excuses. “I do it for solidarity”, or “Interfaith dialogue is important to me,” or “It’s the right thing to do”. As it turns out, I was never able to give Pritpal an answer that pleased either her or myself.
Why was I fasting? I can’t figure it out. I suppose that continued reflection will help me out – as will some friends. Hafsa Arain (my [Muslim] site-partner) is planning to fast with me during Lent. Anyone who is interested is welcome to come along.
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