Ramadan: breaking the day's fast
HIGH POINT — With the demeanor of a game show host, the imam asks those in the crowded restaurant — closed to the public for this Muslim gathering Wednesday — how many chapters of the Quran were revealed in Mecca.
Badi Ali asks first in Arabic, then English — with another translation in the crowd for Burmese refugees.
Yaseen Sadaa, an Iraqi immigrant, correctly shouts “86” in Arabic and then picks out a prize. He rips off the giftwrap to find ... a bag of clothespins.
Sadaa — and all those around him — burst into laughter. A second-chance gift reveals ... a sack of potatoes.
“I heard people laughing so hard that the sound of their laughter made me smile,” Ali would later say.
Smiles fuel this breaking of the day’s fast during the monthlong Ramadan religious observance, which ends at sundown Saturday.
Those who have gathered — more than 120 at a restaurant nearing double capacity — are mostly refugees who have few material possessions but who have come for prayers and fellowship in celebration of one of the holiest observances of the year.
“I like when I come here and see the people of my old country,” 16-year-old Nora Khdier says of seeing other Iraqi families who also have come to live in the U.S. “I see my friends tonight. I do not see them much.”
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When Zaki Khalifa came to High Point in 1976, he had a town full of friends, thanks to Carl Wheeless, a professor at High Point College (now university). Those who knew Wheeless, who had taught political science to Khalifa at Forman Christian College in Lahora, Pakistan, made a point of getting to know Khalifa.
Khalifa and those at the Islamic Center of the Triad who have established themselves in the United States, are hoping to do the same for immigrants like the ones who showed up at the Ramadan celebration at the Pak American Grill.
“Most of these refugees are in such dire straits that they don’t have jobs and they need all kinds of help,” said Khalifa, who opened Zaki’s Oriental Rugs shortly after his own arrival here and would eventually become one of the city’s biggest benefactors.
He donated a building for the chamber of commerce worth $1.6 million.
Khalifa’s wife, Rashida, and her friend, Amal Sayed Khdour of Whitsett, had been collecting furniture, clothing, pots and pans — whatever friends have been willing to donate — as part of the refugee assistance program at the Islamic Center.
The women came up with the idea to host a dinner for 100 refugees at Ramadan, the month when Muslims believe Allah revealed key passages of the Quran to the prophet Muhammad.
From sunup to sundown, Muslims abstain from food, drink, tobacco, sex and other pleasures as a way of practicing self-restraint and renewing their faith.
“If you invite someone to break fast with you, it is more important than any other time,” Rashida Khalifa said.
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Small groups take turns gathering at the back of the store to say prayers to break the fast.
The women choose Pak American Grill because the owners know how to prepare food by Muslim specifications, and organizers wanted to patronize a new business.
Meelia Brifkani nibbles on a date and sips from a milk shake made from an extract from roses.
The snack will help make ifter, the larger meal to come, more palatable for someone who has not eaten all day.
Then, she kneels and bows with two small rows of Muslim women in a corner, speaking in Arabic during the prayers — momentarily oblivious to the children romping nearby.
“Oh, Allah. I fasted for you and I believed in you and I put my trust in you and I break my fast with your permission,” is the English translation of their words.
Brifkani returns to her seat among the women in traditional coverings.
“We look forward to getting together, more than the food,” Brifkani said.
Younger girls, in clusters of tables, wear a mix of hijabs and other Islamic women’s clothing and the more Western jeans and hoodies.
The restaurant buzzes with chatter.
Salman Noor finishes his baked chicken, salad and rice and steps outside in the light rain to smoke a cigarette. For the children, there is fried chicken, cheese pizza and french fries.
Noor has been in the United States for more than a year. He was working as a translator for American soldiers in Iraq when a rocket hit the caravan of vehicles they were riding in. It was a date he remembers well: Dec. 28, 2006. An American soldier died that day.
After several surgeries in Jordan, Noor was brought by humanitarian workers to High Point, where he has undergone additional surgeries and may need more.
“I want to study,” said Noor, an electrical engineer by training who wants to pursue a master’s degree in engineering at N.C. A&T. “Now I sit at home.”
Chamber of commerce President Tom Dayvault is among the visitors this night. “I see nothing but caring and love,” he says.
Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: Yaseen Sadaa prays Wednesday night as hecelebrates the breaking of the day’s fast as part of the Ramadan observance.
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