Written by North Africa Staff
Ramadan across the Muslim world is a time of commemorating the revelation of the Qu'ran. For a whole month, Muslims abstain from food, water, and other indulgences from sun up to sun down. It is said to be a time for cultivating a deeper relationship with Allah and refocusing on becoming a better Muslim man or woman. I have now been overseas for 3 Ramadan seasons, and each year I have felt the weight of this season more and more.
Our first year we were able to share in an iftar meal with some local friends. Iftar happens right after the sun sets (it is the meal that breaks the fast for that day). It was fun to try the foods, hear about Ramadan, and just experience that type of close community. My heart was heavy for my neighbors as I watched them struggle through the day without food or water. Of course, I wished they knew Jesus and His redeeming power but all in all my heart and posture was no different during Ramadan as it was any other day that year.
My second year hit a little more. My husband was out of town and I decided that it was a good idea (some slight sarcasm here) to venture out after dark, pregnant and with my two little girls, to break the fast with my friend and her family. Truthfully, it was a sweet time of preparing the food while our kids played together in their humble apartment. On the menu that iftar were dates (this is obligatory), yogurt, fruit, a special soup, lots of local sweets, local tea, and tuna pizza. Yes, you read that right, tuna pizza. It felt odd to me too, but I have learned to roll with it! Right before sundown, we sat at the table with the food surrounding us. The kids began eating as we sat and waited for the appropriate time. They turned their TV on to the local broadcasting and all of the sudden, we could hear the mosques ringing with the Adhan (the call to prayer). It began even louder over the TV. I expected my friends to dive right in and chug water, but the husband of the family went to the back of the house and after a moment I could hear what I knew to be prayers. We sat there quiet and still as we waited for him to finish so that we could eat. As we sat, I found myself examining her and those moments we sat in waiting. I looked at the bags under her eyes, the exhaustion, the hunger and thirst, her face felt shadowed. There have been many moments in my short time overseas that I have fought back tears and this was one of them. In that moment I felt like I could feel her burden. I felt overwhelmed by it all. The haunting call, the prayers to something not Jesus happening in the back room, the desperation, my kids being there to witness it all.
I felt so thankful for my Savior. I prayed in those moments for Him to reveal himself to that family. That is still my prayer for this family for they have yet to experience the living water and the bread of Life.
My third year here in this land has felt heavier. The first night we waited to hear the call to prayer that would officially begin the month of Ramadan. We had our windows open to let the cool of the evening in and heard it going off- during Ramadan it feels like the Imams are louder and that the mosques have multiplied. As the call was going off, we went to the window to see the stillness of our street that is only found during Ramadan, and it was as if a dark veil was falling over our town. As I have processed why this Ramadan feels heavier, I believe it is because this isn't just a town full of people to me. It's my town, these are my people. I love them and they don't know that Jesus longs for them, not their menial rituals. We have made it a habit to ask people how Ramadan is going. They all recite, literally, the same sentence: "Ramadan is beautiful". It is like a broken track, a lie that they have been told over and over again and convinced themselves to believe. Ramadan is known for being a time of seeking and experiencing Allah more closely, but the reality is that each day they deny their flesh it is their souls that starves.
In the name of Jesus, I pray strongholds are demolished and that Jesus's name reigns supreme in mosques across the globe. I pray that the object of their hunger changes and Christ Himself would invite them to the feast. I pray that this meaningless suffering in the desperate hope of earning favor would crumble under the glory and love of the One True King's abundant grace to us. Amen.
Ramadan is an Islamic holiday that began on March 10, 2024 and is likely to end on Tuesday, April 10, 2024. This is a lunar holiday so the days are not exact and can change depending on the moon sightings, this also means the days can vary depending on the country.
Some additional resources to pray and understand this time for our Muslim friends:
Daily Email // Taste and See: A 30 Day Prayer Guide
Daily Prayer Booklet // 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World
