MUSLIMS BREAK DAY'S FAST TOGETHER.Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE - For Hauwa Alhassan, Saturday's annual communal Ramadan meal at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , was the nearest thing to the traditional fast-breaking meals her family would have in Nigeria. ``Back home we'd sit around one plate and eat together as a group. It's as close as I get to home,'' said the 35-year-old Winnetka resident. ``It's a sense of being with people and it gives me the feeling of togetherness.'' Alhassan was one of 150 Muslims who gathered at the school at sundown to end the day of fasting in what has become one of the largest feasts in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. during Ramadan. Muslims began observing Ramadan last Saturday, a holy month of fasting daily from sunrise Sunrise, city (1990 pop. 64,407), Broward co., SE Fla., a residential suburb 8 mi (13 km) W of Fort Lauderdale; inc. 1961 as Sunrise Golf Village. It is a major office and commercial center and the site of Sawgrass Mills, one of the largest malls in the United States. to sunset and spiritual renewal. At 6:16 p.m., exactly when the sun set, a man began his call for prayer - the sign to all that they can eat. Wajdi Akkari, 24, broke his fast with a date as tradition dictates - just as the prophet would do. The Canoga Park resident said breaking the fast with others strengthens the concept of community. ``It's a reinforcement reinforcement /re·in·force·ment/ (-in-fors´ment) in behavioral science, the presentation of a stimulus following a response that increases the frequency of subsequent responses, whether positive to desirable events, or for the group, since our religion is not individual,'' he said. The men and women, young and old, not only broke bread as a group, but they prayed together in the fourth out of five daily prayers. With their shoes placed at the sides of the room, the brothers and sisters stood shoulder to shoulder, heads bowed, eyes closed, following the imam who led the 10-minute prayer. They bowed, knelt knelt v. A past tense and a past participle of kneel. knelt Verb the past of kneel knelt kneel on the carpet and placed their foreheads on the ground in unison u·ni·son n. 1. Music a. Identity of pitch; the interval of a perfect prime. b. The combination of parts at the same pitch or in octaves. 2. , solemn sol·emn adj. 1. Deeply earnest, serious, and sober. 2. Somberly or gravely impressive. See Synonyms at serious. 3. Performed with full ceremony: a solemn High Mass. 4. and deep in prayer. After the prayer, everyone enjoyed the traditional meal, infused with a greater sense of tolerance and grateful for a feast that many in the world don't have. Those who took part in the third annual meal put together by the university's Muslim Student Association and the Muslim American Society The Muslim American Society (MAS) is a nonprofit organization. It describes itself as an Islamic revival and reform movement. It traces its 1992 origin to the Muslim Brotherhood's founding of the Muslim Students' Association, which created the Islamic Society of North America said they hope the tradition of bringing their whole community together for the special occasion continues. ``You can break fast alone and it's still very special, but we wanted to take it to the next level,'' said organizer Mohammed Siddiqui, 23, of Northridge. ``In our busy lives, you take time off and say I'm going to come and break fast with everybody else in the community.'' Naush Boghossian, (818) 546-3306 naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Iman Alhassan, 9, of Winnetka prepares to break the day's Ramadan fast along with other Muslims on Saturday at sundown at California State University, Northridge. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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