- Tuesday night, our Muslim Jackson neighbors began their period of fasting and reflection known as Ramadan.
- For the faithful in Jackson, Ramadan is a time of spiritual renewal and gratitude for God's blessings.
- Jackson Muslims gather for daily prayers at their "masjid", or mosque, on Jackson's South Side.
While for Christians Wednesday marks the start of Lent, our Jackson neighbors who are Muslim began their own period of fasting and reflection called Ramadan.
"It's a time of rejuvenation, a time of comfort, a time of sacrifice," says Jackson neighbor Yusuf Majeed.
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I came to our Jackson neighborhood "masjid", or house of prayer, to see how they're marking the start of their holy month.
"Ramadan is the month in which the Holy Koran was revealed from Allah," says Zakkiy Mahdi Abuallahi Abdualaliyyu. He and his fellow Muslims worship at this modest house here on Jackson's South Side — and today marks the start of Ramadan: 30 days of daily fasting.
Yusuf puts it this way: "Our Lord is taking something that's good for us away and helping us to increase our discipline. It helps us to really appreciate those things that all of us — especially here in the West — take for granted."
From dawn until dusk, Muslims abstain from eating during Ramadan.
Yusuf, who leads prayer here, says for him it's about gratitude and spiritual renewal: "Many times we need a restart without even knowing that we do. And so that's what it represents for me."
A restart...and a spiritual path for moving forward.
"Islam really means peace. So I try to stay on that course," says Zakkiy.
And how hard is it to fast for 30 days?
"It is challenging," says Yusuf. "But, at the same time, if we are really in tune, we feel a steady ascension....gaining more nearness to the one to whom all of us have to return eventually."
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