Dear Mummy, I think of you often during these times. I wonder how you would have reacted to ‘life in the age of Coronavirus.’
Read moreRamadan In the Age of Coronavirus: Virtual Iftars
This year, Ramadan is like none we have experienced. In late April, as we were getting closer to Ramadan, we wondered how, with shelter-in-place, would we make up for the lost communal spirit.
Read moreRamadan: Taking A Break From My Habits
I am taking a break from my habits; habits that uplift me and habits that pull me down. Where is that going to take me as I enter the mode of fasting.
Read moreAround The World In Ramadan. Part 3: Ramadan in USA
Iftar dinner at the White House
At first, I stopped fasting. I had come to the US in 1971, a newly wed bride. In Pakistan I would fast regularly, but here in NY, the communal sense that goes with fasting was missing. No iftar gatherings, no one around you fasting, no Muslim community, no sounds of adhan
Read moreAround The World In Ramadan. Part 2: Saudi Arabia
No one celebrates Ramadan with as much festivity as do the Saudis. I lived there for six years. Ramadan is the highlight of the year. The entire focus of the nation shifts and you live it and breathe it. For one thing, day turns into night, and night into day.
Read moreShe Takes The Shahada
I don’t know her.
I had never met her.
I don’t even remember her name. But yesterday, I sat with her, as she uttered the words, and entered the fold of Islam.