LI Muslims celebrate Ramadan's start

At 19, Ahmer Imam of Mount Sinai knows the Quran better than his father. For Nayyar Imam, Ahmer Imam's dad, that's fine by him.

"You should always make sure your children know more Islam than you," said Nayyar Iman, a Mount Sinai pharmacist and a Suffolk County police chaplain, who moved from Pakistan to the United States to study 30 years ago. "That's the only way to keep faith in the family."

Sunday night, father and son joined the rest of the Imam family inside their home as they made final preparations for the beginning of the Muslim holy period of Ramadan, which starts Monday. The family knelt together to pray on prayer rugs in the living room before going to a local mosque for more prayer.

For the next 30 days, the family will wake up at 4 a.m., eat breakfast and do their sunrise prayers. After that, they won't eat or drink anything, not even water, until about 8:10 p.m., when the sun sets.

Then, they will meet again at the mosque for sunset prayers and break their fast with other practicing Muslims. Each night, another chapter of the Quran will be recited by memory by a prayer leader at 10 p.m. And each morning, they will awake before dawn to eat.

The Muslim holiday, which occurs every year 10 or 11 days earlier than the year before, in accordance with the lunar calendar, asks the devout to abstain from food and drink during the day as proof of their unshakable faith. Instead, they focus their energy on prayer, charity and love for Allah.

Fasting is tough in the beginning, Ahmer said. But after a few days, your body acclimates, he added.

His brother Azfar, 16, said in the past, Ramadan has fallen during the school year, which has helped him.

"Personally for me, it's easier in school because it keeps your mind off" eating, he said. Azfar said he plays basketball and runs track at Mount Sinai High School. He had to give up football because the fasting sapped his strength for practice. His coaches at school were initially shocked when they discovered he couldn't even drink water at practices during Ramadan.

But his father would gently pull them aside and explain the importance of this steadfastness to their faith.

"If you educate people around you, it's a lot easier for them to understand the religion," he said.