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Say it on the Huffington Post
I might not believe in the divinity of Christ or the Crucifixion of the four canonical gospels. But I do believe in charity, in prayer, and, of course, in fasting.
Sometimes the hours tick away quite slowly and you find yourself obsessively checking the clock, almost willing it to hit 6 p.m., when you can gorge on smoothies and quesadillas. "The Fast" in the Baha'i Faith is certainly misnamed. It should be called "The Slow" for the way time plods throughout the day.
Being a Baptist, I'm still quite new to the rich Christian traditions of Ash Wednesday and Lent. I do know, though, that it's more than just "giving up" something or trying to "pick up" something else.
In the short term, Chris Stevens' killers should be brought to justice. But stopping religious warfare requires heirs of the Enlightenment, in Europe and America, and advocates of tajdid, in the Muslim world, to convince their peers that such warfare is wrong
This Ramadan I decided to fast. My fast was not out of devotion to God, but out of desperation to find Him.
Every day, I discovered something new about the Islamic religion. I learned how to tie a headscarf. I toured mosques and even attended a religious Whirling Dervish ceremony.
Syrian soap operas -- though poisoned by ideology and demonization -- made Syrians proud of their history and heritage.
Although I only fasted for three days, the experience has stayed with me, so that even now, weeks later, I am still reflecting on that time. There is much to be learned from Ramadan.
The recent events leading up to the arrest of an 11-year-old girl under Pakistan's blasphemy law are unclear. Setting aside any restraints of logic, the angry mob of Muslims in Pakistan seems to have failed at learning the lessons of Ramadan.
Our lives are given to us to make use of. Ramadan taught us our potential, we just have to embrace it. Be good to others and be good to yourself. Be the reason that someone has hope in this world, not the reason that someone dreads it.
As the month draws to an end, take the time to reflect on those who do things for you, regardless of how small. It will help you better understand what it is that you are doing for others.
This is a very important time not just for my family, but for every Muslim family throughout the world to celebrate and pray together.
Racism is racism, clear and simple. For those who say these attacks from the last two weeks and many other violent actions have nothing to do with race, understand that Islam as a faith has been racialized for quite some time.
Eid is the day we no longer have to fast and we can feast upon whatever the heart desires. It's a day where many Muslims get stomach aches from pigging out.
If this Ramadan you learned you can live without an addiction or substance, don't go back to it. If you found yourself volunteering or doing service work, keep doing it. If you got accustomed to giving in charity, keep giving it.
Although I gave up fasting many years ago, I still enjoy observing Ramadan, that is, its cultural and social aspects, from a comfortable secular distance.
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