Ramadan a time for quiet reflection

The new Medford Islamic Center has become a home away from home for three men who have chosen to spend the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan secluded in prayer and introspection.

The three -- an imam, a Stony Brook University student and a retired MTA employee -- go beyond fasting from sunrise to sundown during Ramadan. They participate in the Itikaaf by remaining in the mosque for the final 10 days of the month. They have slept and read the Quran nonstop since Saturday.

During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating from dawn to dusk to show reverence to Allah. For those participating in the Itikaaf, there's more.

"There's something beautiful about being locked up in these four walls," said Anwer Imam, 23, a senior in history at Stony Brook University. "I'm realizing things about myself I haven't realized before. It's making me more patient."

The other two men participating in the Itikaaf were Iqbal Tirmizi, 67, a retired MTA worker who lives in Farmingville, and the mosque's imam, Motiur Rahman.

After everyone broke their fasts with dates and other fruit last night, Faiza Rahman, 23, a pre-med student at Stony Brook, stood outside under a big white tent with other women and children while the men continued to pray inside before dinner. Some children ran and played in the yard.

"I was excited to start fasting when I was young," she said. "The evening, when you break fast, is the best time. You get to meet new people and see everyone."

As everyone else shared dinner under the tent outside, the three worshipers ate dinner in the mosque.

The little white mosque, which is a work in progress, is one of several new Islamic centers on the Island. Nayyar Imam, Islamic chaplain for Suffolk police, said there has been a rapid growth in the Long Island Muslim community in the past 10 years. There used to be one mosque in East Suffolk; now there are six.

The makeshift sand parking lot of the mosque was full Wednesday night, and about 40 people were at prayer services. The mosque occupies what was a little white house in an earlier life.

Those who choose to participate in the Itikaaf never leave the mosque; they break fast and even shower there.

The rituals are conducted at other mosques as well.

At Selden mosque, Mohammad Asad, 49, said he was one of 13 men participating in Itikaaf there. Each of the 13 men there lives and worships within the confines of hanging bedsheets.

"Basically, the idea is to disconnect from the world -- no business, no family, no kids," he said.

But there isn't much time for sleep. After sunrise prayer, the men nap for a few hours, and then continue praying. Wednesday, Asad and other worshipers didn't sleep until 6 a.m.