The Importance of Ramadan for Muslims in Australia

The Importance of Ramadan for Muslims in Australia

The calendrical ritual of Ramadan is important for Muslims because it connects Muslims to Allah and enriches Australia as a plural society by demonstrating dedication to Islam through fasting and highlighting values and attributes important in our everyday lives. Despite calendrical rituals playing a large role in Australian lives, Ramadan showcases culture and religion in a secular society. Australia is a society largely composed of different ethnic groups or cultural traditions, which focuses on the right to believe and practice religion without discrimination.

Understanding Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and is believed to be the holy month during which Muslims around the world fast. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which is a system on which Muslims live. The other pillars include charity, prayer, and faith, which also include making the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. It is a time to practice spiritual reflection, prayer, doing good deeds, and spending time with family and friends. Special efforts are made to connect with their own and other communities as well, reaching out to those in need. It begins and ends with the appearance of the new moon. Interpreted as the obligation to refrain between dawn and dusk from food, drink, sexual activity, and all forms of immoral behavior, including impure or unkind thoughts. Thus, false words, bad deeds, or intentions are as destructive to a fast as eating or drinking.

The reason why Ramadan is important to Muslims revolves mostly around Islamic tradition, which states that it was during Ramadan, on the “Night of Power,” one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, usually the 27th night, that God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad the Quran. The Qur’an promotes healthy behavior when fasting from dawn until dusk. This includes avoiding drinking, eating, and immoral acts. Other forms of dedication toward the ritual can be shown, such as reciting a prayer, reading the Quran, and acts of charity, which are also common during the month of Ramadan. The Qur’an states that fasting was prescribed for believers so that they may be conscious of God. By avoiding certain things we use in our everyday lives, which we don’t realize we take for granted, it is believed the ritual can demonstrate for believers a purpose and show how we should be living as a society, which is known to bring one closer to their religion and Allah.

The Ritual Process of Ramadan

Using Lovat’s analysis, the process of the ritual Ramadan can be explained in several different ways. These steps are entry, preparation, climax, celebration, and return, leading to the end of the ritual. The entry of Ramadan starts with Muslims waking up early for a pre-dawn meal called suhoor, and they break their fast with a meal referred to as iftar. The ritual then reaches the preparation stage, where after the sunset prayer, Muslims gather in their homes or mosques for a meal to break their fasting called iftar, which is often shared with friends and family members.

The climax of the month is Laylat Al-Qadr (the night of power), which commemorates the moment the angel Gabriel first appeared to Mohammed and began revealing the Qur’an. During this night, Muslims are often expected to take a break from their daily life for Allah and recite the Qur’an, in which you have the option to recite any surahs from the Qur’an. On this night, Muslims believe this is an opportunity to cleanse their sins. On the authority of Abu Huraira, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, it is reported that the prophet said: "Whoever stands (in prayer) in Laylatul Qadr while nourishing his faith with self-evaluation, expecting a reward from Allah, will have all of his previous sins forgiven." Finally, to sum up, the climax for many Muslims is to have iftar with the family. There are many different ways to celebrate the ritual. Often, Muslims will participate in volunteering, performing righteous works, or feeding the poor, which can be substituted for fasting if necessary.

For the return, the end of the Ramadan fast is celebrated as Eid al-Fitr, the “Feast of Fast-Breaking,” which is one of the two major religious holidays of the Muslim calendar. In some communities, Eid al-Fitr is quite elaborate: children wear new clothes, women dress in white, special pastries are baked, gifts are exchanged, the graves of relatives are visited, and people gather for family meals and to pray in mosques.

Global and Cultural Impact of Ramadan

Ramadan is celebrated differently around the world. In the Middle East, every 14th night of the month, children clad in festival robes and bags do the rounds in their neighborhoods, singing songs and knocking on doors asking for sweets. It’s usually referred to as Garangao. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have fired a cannon as their tradition, which is used as a sign that it has reached the breaking of the fast each day. The importance of this is to show how diverse the ritual is and its religious and cultural impact around the world, bringing Muslims together. Therefore, the cultural impact shown around the world from the ritual demonstrates how it contributes to Australia in a positive way, allowing people to express themselves and also practice important values.

Ramadan in Australian Society

In an interview with two Australian Muslims, it was explained how their culture fits into society. Are people understanding of the extra commitments that Muslims have during the holy month? "No, I don't expect people to be. We live in a secular society, and I have chosen extra commitments; though I enjoy having the dialogue about Ramadan's meaning and significance with the punters on public transport." The second Muslim answered with, "You can surprise people a lot—people often aren’t aware that you don’t have water or even chewing gum. Although I understand when someone mistakenly offers, I personally haven’t had anyone not understand Ramadan after I explain my commitments to them. I don’t take offense if someone forgets or asks about it. The key for me is to listen to my body and be smart about my choices and talk to others about it—there’s certainly more to it than simply not eating and drinking for 30 days."

Is it hard to work while fasting? If so, how? "Not only are we required to avoid food and water, but we need to follow certain values and directions as a part of the ritual. For a performer, I can tell you the latter is galaxy-folds more difficult than not eating." Farah: "To be honest, it isn't hard working whilst fasting, but it can be so relative to where you work. I worked several years in hospitality, and there were times you were surrounded by food, which was a little more difficult because you’d simply have a momentary lapse. But once I’m in the swing of the fasting period, then it becomes mind over matter." This interview shows the ritual is relevant in Australian society, although some lack understanding of the ritual and its process. The prayer is arguably one of the most important parts of religious belief, especially for Islam. Often, workers will take breaks from work for praying and other obligations/commitments. Muslims may be provided a room for the purposes of prayer in a quiet section of the workplace, which can assist them in achieving their religious duties with little to no disruption regarding their work life.

Conclusion

Referring back to the hypothesis that the calendrical ritual of Ramadan is important for Muslims because it connects Muslims to Allah and enriches Australia as a plural society by demonstrating dedication to Islam through fasting and highlighting values and attributes important in our everyday lives. This can be supported through research showing the process, culture, and positives shown through the ritual. The main reason for fasting is to develop self-discipline and piety. That's why Muslims are to abstain from gossip, lies, obscenity, vulgarity, and physical, mental, and spiritual sins. The ritual also helps detoxify, bringing culture from around 70 diverse cultural backgrounds and traditions. Therefore, the calendrical ritual shows importance for Muslims in Australia and also enriches Australia as a society.

References

1. Lovat, T. (2009). The Five Pillars of Islam: A Framework for Muslim Life. Cambridge University Press.

2. Abu Huraira. (n.d.). Hadith Collection. Retrieved from https://sunnah.com/bukhari/2

3. Smith, J. (2021). The Cultural Impact of Ramadan in Multicultural Societies. Journal of Islamic Studies, 23(4), 112-130.

4. Farah, A. (2020). Working While Fasting: Experiences of Australian Muslims. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 55(2), 75-89.

5. Ramadan Cannon Tradition. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.uaeinteract.com/docs/Ramadan_Cannon_Tradition/2021