RAMADAN 2003: A Statement of Voices in the Wilderness, Pax Christi USA Teachers of Peace, Muslim Peace Fellowship and Fellowship of Reconciliation

We invite and welcome individuals and groups from our networks to observe all or part of the month of Ramadan in solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers.

In the late fall of 2002, as a US-led invasion of Iraq seemed imminent and as Iraqis endured a 13th year of brutally punitive economic sanctions, Iraq Peace Team members witnessed Iraqi Muslim friends draw strength from observing the month of Ramadan. We saw that Muslims who observe Ramadan strengthen their community's resolve to practice forgiveness, to live simply, to share resources better, and to understand better the plight of those who have no choice over when they will eat or how much food they will have. We also noted the joy inherent in gathering with family, friends and neighbors to break fast and to share time with one another. Ramadan this year runs from approximately October 26, 2003 to November 23, 2003.

At our request, Umm Haider, who is presently living in Chicago with members of Voices in the Wilderness, told us of her own experience of Ramadan. Umm Haider and her son, Mostafa are in the US for medical care. On January 25, 1999, a US bomb hit her street, killing her eldest son. Her surviving son, Mostafa, has shrapnel embedded in his backside and a mutilated hand. Many Voices in the Wilderness delegation members have received hospitality at her home in Basra, Iraq:

"Ramadan isn't about how much you eat or drink, it's an examination of the faith inside of your soul. God said that 'your reward depends upon your effort,' and that 'all the other months of the year are for the people, but this one month is for me.' Ramadan is the best month to clean your heart and soul. When you feel hungry you can remember the suffering of the poor, who are usually hungry, and by remembering you can help them always. Ramadan isn't just to forbid you from eating and drinking, it's to forbid you from doing any bad thing. During Ramadan, Islamic activities increase, like praying, reading from the Quran, and helping others. These activities strengthen Islamic relationships because you must join with other Muslims."

"There are a lot of traditional Ramadan habits. Families exchange food with one another for the sunset meal (Iftar); this happened even during the sanctions in Iraq. God rewards those people who feed those who don't have food. We feel that Ramadan is like a religious festival; we buy many kinds of food to serve during this month. We spend the time after Iftar praying and reading from the Quran until midnight. Then we pray and read from the Quran after the predawn meal (Sahur) until sunrise. We never feel tired because we are doing the right thing."

During the upcoming season of Ramadan, we want to show a gesture of respect and appreciation for Muslim brothers and sisters and to learn from them. We welcome an opportunity to be in solidarity with Muslims who rely on the month of Ramadan to help inculcate values of simplicity, service, sharing, compassion and mercy. We recognize the need for these virtues in our own lives. We invite you to join us in this effort of solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters, as a shared prayer and action for peace that depends on conversion from ways of injustice and reliance on war. A list of suggested ways to share in this effort can be found below.

Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA
Muslim Peace Fellowship, USA
Voices in the Wilderness
Pax Christi Teachers of Peace:

Daniel Berrigan, SJ, New York
Roy Bourgeois, MM, Columbus, GA
Joan Chittister, OSB, Erie, PA
Peter Dougherty, Lansing, MI
Shelley and Jim Douglass, Birmingham, AL
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Detroit, MI
Mary Evelyn Jegen, SND, Cincinnati, OH
Kathy Kelly, Chicago, IL
Liz McAlister, Baltimore, MD
Kathy and Jim McGinnis, St. Louis, MO
Dianna Ortiz, OSU, Washington, DC
Helen Prejean, CJS, New Orleans, LA
Bill Quigley, New Orleans, LA
Louis Vitale, OFM, San Francisco, CA

Also signed by:
Jonah House, Baltimore, MD
Rabbi Douglas Krantz, Armonk, NY
Simon Harak, SJ, New York, NY
More signers will be listed on the VitW website soon: www.vitw.org

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS

May we suggest:

• Find one or more people in your community who want to participate in some way in the Ramadan fast and discern together the extent to which individuals can commit. Some might wish to fast from food and water, from sunup till sundown, for the entire month, as many Muslims do. Others may commit to familiarizing themselves with Ramadan. Still others may choose middle paths, e.g., fasting for one week during the month of Ramadan. The intent of this call is to urge people to grow closer to our Muslim brothers and sisters through whatever gesture of solidarity they can make beginning October 26 and continuing through the following four weeks.

• Visit www.islamicfinder.org to learn where there is a mosque or masjid in your area. Contact leaders of the mosque to ask for their assistance in learning more about their observance of the month of Ramadan and to let them know of your own interests.

• Plan at least once or twice a week to gather people from your community to break fast after sundown and also to use the time to learn more about events in the Middle East.

• Plan at least one action during Ramadan, e.g., a two-day fast from electricity, hosting a film about Iraq or the Middle East, or reaching out to the local media to involve them in some aspect of your Ramadan observance.

• Plan to view or review "A Force More Powerful" to learn more about nonviolent action for change.

• Keep a diary and then visit the Voices in the Wilderness website, www.vitw.org, during Ramadan, where you will be able to participate in a bulletin board to share your writing with others.