The often immediate response of many when I tell them I live in a predominately Muslim country usually consists of at least one raised eye brow and a, “is it safe?” Certainly, I am generalizing, but to those with little exposure to borders outside of their own city, county, or country, and/or to those high on CNN or Fox News, this might be a reality.
We are all, uh, how shall I say, victims of our environment…or is it products?
In theory, the philosophical nominalist view of the things in our world (universals are only that way because of the language by which it is defined, thus, a tree’s leaves are only green because that is the name we give it) is ideal, but the realist view seems to take control of our minds (I know a Muslim is _______, _______, and _______ because that is how I know I see it). I certainly had my own misconceptions about the Muslim faith before having lived with my Turkish brother and my African brothers and sisters and consequently altering those perceptions.
Ramadan began here in Dakar two weeks ago. This is the month of the Islamic calendar in which people of the Muslim faith fast from dawn to sunset. The fast is usually broken at sunset with sweet dates and juice or water – a tradition started by the prophet Muhammad. After the fast is broken there is a time for prayer and personal reflection and later a meal is served and shared among family and friends.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to break fast with some of my Muslim sisters and brothers recently. As difficult as this fast is for many – teachers teach and construction workers build without eating or drinking anything throughout the day – the overwhelming response is that it is not only a necessary and essential element of the Islamic doctrine, but one of great personal and societal importance and significance.
There are various ways to “get” the month of Ramadan and I’m sure each Muslim will have their own specific reason for why it is significant to them. I’ve heard some state that the month of Ramadan is a time to connect with Allah in a new or refreshed light, with a new and refreshed mentality and heart. It is a time to reflect upon sins committed and to seek forgiveness and to renew their commitment to Allah. I’ve also heard that Ramadan is about the sacrifice and the struggle through a temporarily impoverished state and about understanding the constant struggles that many undergo throughout an entire year or lifetime.
I completely admire their reverence in this practice. My brothers and sisters have freely chosen to sacrifice the core and quintessential elements of life as a gesture, an act, a deed, a personal commitment of acknowledgment to a supreme and omnipresent being and to the societal cry of humankind.
In thinking about my own American Christian background and upbringing I can’t help but to chuckle (loudly and hysterically) at the lack of reverence many of my American Christian brothers and sisters have. Growing up in the Lutheran church, I spent countless weekends performing some type of service act, whether it be Meals-On-Wheels or Habitat-for-Humanity. However, I do believe American Christianity on a whole has become diluted with Christian and Religious jargon and lingo that has polarized the idea of what it is to be called a Christian without the true discipline, acts, and reverence necessary to be a Christian. Some Christians would reject this notion, claiming that all you need is Jesus in your heart to be Christian. While I am not here to judge or disclaim anyone’s personal faith, we can certainly look at models and examples within society to suggest a point.
Our climatic American Christian “holiday” has been saturated with the act of commerce and the gesture of gift giving. In place of the sympathizing and humbled hearts are the distracted minds and fidgety hands impatiently waiting to bask in the warmth of their not-yet-satisfied want.
America’s push into 21st century consumerism has turned churches into state of the art sound-system controlled mega-churches living and breathing off the shear number of “saved” members (and tithes), rather than the community based home centered around the core value of service to others.
Renewed Christian conservatism has quieted intellectualism, taken a dumb-it-down approach to past and present American societal struggles (claiming God can and will make all things possible), and alienated the “other” in a game of good versus evil. To be not Christian is not to be in America.
I have found it gravely difficult to settle in one church for many reasons. I refrain from calling or labeling myself a ________________, rather I would prefer to live life with a dedication to service and a keen awareness to my societal surroundings. I do not intend to be prophetic to anyone, but I do hope humility and a humbling of sorts floods your heart as mine has been through witnessing the awe and reverence of the act of fasting during Ramadan by my African brothers and sisters. For my own mental well-being I feel much safer here in the Islamic stalwart city of Dakar, Senegal than in the many Consumerism Churches of American Christianity.
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