Some stories are just too sweet to pass over. I was at the Islamic Center of New York University for an iftar, preceded by a sermon.
Read moreWe Are Not a Monolith
We, as in Muslims. What if I were to pick up a tourist couple from Times Square and took them for an iftar?
Read moreIt's Not a Holiday
“Have a good holiday,” my friend Karen said to me. “Thank you, but it’s not a holiday.”
It happens every year at the beginning of Ramadan.
Ramadan During Retirement
I started fasting in my teens. As I approach seventy, I have experienced fasting during exams, raising children, working full-time, and now in retirement. This has to be the easiest phase of my fasting career. A lot changes when one is no longer on active duty.
Read moreRamadan In The Age of COVID: A Personal Snapshot
Read my piece in the New York Daily News, published on April 22, 2021
Read moreRepairing Our World Together
This year the Jewish festival of Passover will be celebrated from March 27th through April 4th; and on April 13, Muslims will begin the fasting month of Ramadan. This circumstance occurs only once in three decades, attributable to Muslims following the lunar cycle. As our calendars get populated with interfaith Seders and iftars. . . .
Read moreWelcome to My Table
I was skeptical at first. I received an email from Shoulder to Shoulder asking me if I would be interested in participating in their program, “Welcome to My Table,” …They were proposing that they pair me up with a family for an interfaith iftar via Zoom.
Around The World In Ramadan. Part 1: Pakistan
Communal iftar in a mosque
My earliest memories of Ramadan are in Pakistan. A child of seven, I would plead with my parents, ‘please, please, can I fast?’ It seemed exciting, such a grown-up thing to do. Mummy let me fast for half a day when I turned 10, but just for a day.
Read more