A Dearborn Arab woman reflects on her understanding of fasting
by Rasha AbuJaber—
Some of my memories involving Ramadan were from my elementary and middle school years in Amman, Jordan. My brother and I attended a private Muslim School for a few years as it was highly regarded for education in the area we lived in at the time. Except for one other student, we were the only Christians amongst thousands of students. We were not required to attend “Dein,” or Religion class, teaching the Quran and Islam. We did still need to recite Surat Al-Fateha every morning at assembly though, and we did not mind.
Towards the later years of elementary, most of the students would fast during Ramadan (at least for a half day). My brother and I would also not eat during school hours out of respect for our friends. However, sometimes we would, along with some of our Muslim friends, sneak some food in a corner where no one noticed (or at least we hoped).
We would get just as excited about the start of Ramadan as our friends did. We all, young and old, loved the exciting new dramas and shows on TV that were released at the beginning of the Fasting month (the best shows were always released during Ramadan). And there were also the delicious Atayef dessert that we only had during Ramadan. My mom, like most women, would buy ready dough and make the rest home made. It was small rounded dough like a pancake that was either stuffed with walnuts or cheese, with a mix of sweet spices and sugar. Then the whole thing was closed on itself and either baked or fried then drenched with A’tter (sugar syrup). I have never had Atayef as delicious as the ones I grew up with in Jordan. There were also other changes that came with the beginning of Ramadan, for example stores that sold Liquor were required to close for the month. There was also just a change in the atmosphere, it was a party life in the evening and very quiet and peaceful in the mornings. The afternoons were always interesting though, as there was always the rush of getting to stores to stock up on everything and home on time for Iftar. And of course there were always many hungry, and angry, drivers at this time.
I never thought of Ramadan and fasting from a religious point until I was older. I knew that Christians fasted as well, but my family being nominal Christian at the time did not fast or talk about it. When I started thinking about it, I did not understand why it mattered to Almighty God weather or not we ate, or what time we did.
When I was 16 I became a real Christian; a believer and follower of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Arabic church I was attending would have fasting and prayer every Wednesday year round. I wanted to participate, but first I wanted to understand why I would do that. Fasting is not necessarily a commandant in Christianity but it is a highly encouraged spiritual discipline. Some Christians do not only fast from food altogether for a certain time, or certain foods, but also from other physical pleasures such as television or video games.
After some studying and discussion with my pastor and other Christian believers, I understood that fasting in Christianity was a means of experiencing dependence and longing for God more than physical desires. It is not a means of establishing good works, as God knows our hearts more than we do, or gaining God’s approval, but more of a surrender of fleshly desires in order to have more of God.