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Muslims debate beginning of holiday

The world's 1 billion Muslims begin the observance of Ramadan this week, a month in which they fast from dawn to dusk and seek to rejuvenate their beliefs.

LSA junior Asif Harsolina, president of the Muslim Student Association, said Ramadan is "a 30-day fast teaching discipline and self-restraint."

But exactly when Detroit-area Muslims will begin observing the holy month varies, depending on how modern or traditional their leader is. Ramadan, a month of meditation and thanksgiving for Muslims, begins and ends with sightings of the new moon.

The crescent moon was sighted in many Arab countries Saturday. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt reported sightings of the moon yesterday. In Oman, the crescent could not be seen so the first day of Ramadan will be today.

Ramadan will last 29 or 30 days, depending on the next lunar crescent sighting.

Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn, declared today the start of Ramadan, but called on followers to begin fasting yesterday to prepare.

Chuck Alawan, a West Bloomfield Arab American said the observance of Ramadan is determined by a combination of the Muslim's lunar calendar with a solar calendar and comes 11 days later with each succeeding year.

Jinnah El-Soloman a junior nursing student called Ramadan "an opportunity to gain spirituality and to be closer to God."

According to Muslim belief, Ramadan marks the month when the angel Gabriel imparted the wisdom of the Koran to the Prophet Mohammed in a cave near Mecca 1,400 years ago. Most mosques remain open each night so worshippers may pray.

Ramadan requires the faithful to abstain from food, drink, tobacco and sex during the daytime. But the tradition is not only about abstention and self-control. Families and friends also gather together after sundown to share meals and many then retire to mosques for lectures and religious discussion.

"This is a month where students tend to go to other people's homes for dinner," Harsolina said. "It's actually pretty fun."

He said the Muslim Student Association holds dinners at different restaurants in town where students gather to break the fast.