LI Muslims celebrate start of Ramadan as tensions rise

Habeeb Ahmed ate some cereal and a few dates Wednesday at about 4:30 a.m. Then the chairman of the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury didn't eat or drink again for a stretch of nearly 16 hours.

He was marking the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month observed by 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide, including about 70,000 on Long Island. While some Muslims began fasting during daylight hours Wednesday, others will start Thursday, because of different interpretations of when the new moon appeared.

Ramadan is a time of purification and renewal during which Muslims give to charity, pray as much as possible, and treat others as kindly as they can, Ahmed said. Muslims are required to donate at least 2 1/2 percent of their income and assets, and many do so during the holy month.

Considered one of the five pillars of Islam, Ramadan commemorates the time when the Prophet Muhammad received the Quran, the holiest book in Islam. For many Muslims, one of the hallmarks of the holiday is the recitation of the entire Quran throughout the month.

At the Masjid Darul Quran mosque in Bay Shore on Tuesday night, nearly 500 people showed up to mark the start of the holiday, said mosque president Mohammed Suhail. The mosque had to arrange for six other parking areas outside the complex to accommodate the faithful, he said.

After breaking the fast with a meal following sunset, the faithful attend daily prayer services lasting 90 minutes to two hours, during which sections of the Quran are read. Then they are up by 4:30 a.m. or so to pray again and eat something before the daylong fast resumes.

The holy month ends Sept. 9 with the sighting of the next new moon and will be celebrated with the three-day festival and feast of Eid ul-Fitr.

This year's Ramadan occurs against a backdrop of intense national debate over a Manhattan mosque and Islamic community center proposed near Ground Zero. A major force behind the project is Daisy Khan, a 1975 Jericho High School graduate. Proposed mosques in other locations, including Staten Island, have recently been blocked.

Ahmed said that for many Muslims the controversy has added tension to the holy month. "People are a little tense because the politicians are trying to get Islamophobic fever up," he said.