By Khalida Sarwari
Muslims in Saratoga and across the South Bay this month are foregoing food and drink from dawn until sunset as part of a tradition that dates back thousands of years.
Referred to by Muslims as Ramadan, the 29- or sometimes 30-day fast commemorates the first revelation of the Quran to the prophet Muhammad, according to Islamic belief, and is regarded as one of the five obligatory acts in Islam. During this time, Muslims refrain from a number of things which, in addition to food and drinks, includes activities such as smoking and sex. For observers in the Bay Area, that means staying away from those things from about 4:15 a.m. to 8:40 p.m. every day.
Reshma Hyder, a longtime Saratoga resident and founding board director for the West Valley Muslim Association, is one such observer. Though she no longer serves on the association’s board, Hyder regularly attends services at the mosque when she’s not occupied with her duties as a tech startup founder and mother of six kids. Last year, Hyder served as an adviser to a group of youth in Glasgow who created “Ramadan Legacy,” a lifestyle app that Hyder called a “one-stop shop for fasting.”
The app, which is available for free on both Google Play and the App Store, helps users keep track of their prayers, set goals for completing the Quran, keep a journal, search food recipes and connect with other observers around the world.
“We have not seen an app like that for other faith followers,” said Hyder. “It is globally used in 90 countries by 150,000 Muslims.”
Locally, dozens of congregants from throughout the West Valley region, including the cities of Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Campbell, West San Jose and Cupertino, come together during Ramadan for nightly prayers that run from 10 p.m. to midnight. The association also hosts community iftars on Saturdays on the lawn at the Prospect Center. Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset to break the fast. These events typically include a lecture on a Ramadan-relevant topic and charity showcase. About 850 people attended the most recent one on June 11, according to Hyder.
“We invite local charities to come and have their booths in the [mosque] and get some airtime,” she said. “We have the charity come and talk about what they do.”
The association will mark the end of Ramadan with an Eid celebration at the JCPenney at Vallco Mall sometime in early July. Though the exact date has yet to be determined because it is contingent upon the observation of the new moon, the event will likely be held July 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include a prayer service, food and children’s activities. It will be free and open to the public.
The West Valley Muslim Association was founded in 2007 as an offshoot of the Muslim Community Association, one of the largest mosques in the Bay Area, and at the time served as a satellite mosque for it. The Muslim Community Association is at least a 20-minute drive for most people in the West Valley.
The association offers Sunday school services at the Saratoga Elementary School and routinely rents the Saratoga Prospect Center from the city for prayer services on Fridays, nightly prayers and weekly dinners during Ramadan, as well as classes for kids. The venue is only temporary, however, as the mosque’s board of directors is in the process of searching for a permanent home.
For more information about WVMA and its activities, visit wvmuslim.org.
Link:
Los Gatos, Saratoga: West Valley Muslim Association will host observation of Ramadan
