VOA慢速英语--Muslim Americans Mark Start of Ramadan

 

Ramadan is beginning for the world’s Muslims.

The month-long observance is a time to fast, to think and to spend time with friends and family.

In the United States, people of different national origins gather at Islamic centers for religious services and to celebrate their beliefs.

Muslim Americans observe Ramadan in much the same way as Muslims in other countries do.

There are traditions to be followed.

Families buy meat prepared according to Muslim law. The meat is served after sunset, when the daily fast ends. Fasting requires Muslims to avoid eating, drinking and sexual¹ activity during daylight hours.

Families also pray together and help the poor.

Shaker Elsayed is the religious leader of the Dar al-Hijra Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia. The center serves Muslims of 42 different nationalities.

He said, “Ramadan becomes a very helpful opportunity to bring people together, those who come from different cultural and ethnic² backgrounds and linguistic³ backgrounds.”

He added, “We all speak English so we use English as a unifying⁴ language, and at the same time, we do all the activities to accommodate⁵ everybody, especially in Ramadan.”

Shaker said the center provides Muslims free meals to break their fast. It also organizes nightly prayers during Ramadan.

During the day, Muslim Americans are fasting, but their co-workers and friends are not. For Ibrahim Radi, an Egyptian-American, that is not a problem.

“I have to fast because it is my religious duty,” he said, so it does not concern him too much.

His wife, Nadia, told VOA she misses big family gatherings⁶ in Morocco.

“There is a big difference; here you do not have extended⁷ families, so instead of having 10 people around the table, there is only the two of us,” she said.

A time for religious duties and to inform others

Some Muslim Americans say their work day seems longer because they have to carry out their religious duties during Ramadan. Amina Tanboush of Senegal describes some of those duties.

“Everyone will cook some food and bring it, and we all eat together and pray together and we talk about [the] Muslim religion, teach each other, sometimes we go to pray together around lunch time,” she said.

For many Muslim American groups, Ramadan also is a time to tell the American public about their religious observances and the Islamic faith, in general.

Among the activities are “open houses” at Islamic centers and local mosques⁸. Other activities include public talks during Ramadan and Iftar dinners with non-Muslims. At this time of year, some television stations broadcast advertisements that bring attention to Muslims as an important part of United States society.

Shaker Elsayed said his Islamic center invites Christians⁹ and Jewish¹⁰ Americans to Iftar dinner every Wednesday. The dinners are an effort to increase contacts between religious groups.

Discussion¹¹ about religion is popular during Ramadan.

Keth Ellison is the first Muslim American to be elected to the U.S. Congress¹². He says these dialogues help build understanding between religious groups.

“It's a critically important dialogue for us to have; all people of all colors, all cultures and faiths need to come together to talk about points of difference so we can discover how are we unified¹³.”

Since the early 1990s, U.S. presidents have given Ramadan greetings to the more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.

Shaker said he believes the presidential greetings have helped Americans know more about Ramadan and Muslim Americans.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

fast – v. to stop eating and drinking for a period of time

origin – n. a cause, rise or beginning

according – adv. as stated by or in

opportunity – n. a chance to do something

accommodate – v. to provide something needed by someone

linguistic – adj. of or relating to language

1 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

4 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

5 accommodate   

vt.容纳，向...提供住处，使适应，顺应

参考例句：

• You should soon accommodate yourself to the new circumstance.你应尽快适应新环境。
• Are there enough shelves to accommodate all our books?有足够的书架容纳我们所有的书吗？

6 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

7 extended   

adj.延伸的；伸展的；延长的；扩大的v.延伸(extend的过去式和过去分词)；伸展；延长

参考例句：

• an extended lunch hour 延长了的午餐时间
• France has greatly extended its influence in world affairs. 在世界事务中，法国的影响已大大地扩大了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

9 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

10 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

11 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

12 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

13 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。