2007年VOA标准英语-American Muslims Prepare for Holy Month of Rama

By Mohamed Elshinnawi
Washington
12 September 2007
 

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, Muslim Americans across the United States are gathering¹ in mosques² and homes just as Muslims do around the world. VOA's Mohamed Elshinnawi tells us how American Muslims are observing their holy month.

There are an estimated six to eight million Muslims in the United States, comprised mainly of immigrants from the Arab world, as well as converts to Islam. Regardless of their country of origin, American Muslims observe Ramadan with a set of traditional rituals.  Families shop at Halal meat stores, prepare Iftar meals to break their fast with family and friends and pray together. Some Muslim Americans shop for special items such as dates and Ramadan sweets at specialty³ food stores.

Shala Haroun, an American Muslim from Kashmir, misses the big family gathering on Ramadan. "Ramadan back home is a lot more fun, there is a lot more family, a bigger Indian community and you get your whole family together, while here you are with just a couple of your family."

Islamic centers and mosques are thriving with Muslim American praying and reading the Koran. Imam Hassan Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan says the center has a special program for Ramadan. "Every night, after the nightly prayers, the Islamic Center will hold a special session that consists of recitation of the holy Koran, the interpretation⁴ of the Koran, as well as some other lectures."

He says as many as 1,000 people go to daily evening prayers at the Islamic Center of America during Ramadan, and there will be a special program for American-born Muslim Americans.

"The English-speaking part of our congregation, we will have a special program for them. We believe that these will be the ambassadors of Islam to non-Muslims. They will be the ones who will carry the banner of Islam, therefore there will be a very specialized⁵ program catered⁶ to the youth."

For Muslim American groups, Ramadan has served as a means to educate the American public about the holidays of Muslims and the Islamic faith. Dawud Walid is the executive director in Michigan of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. "[The] Council on American Islamic Relations sends out information relating to Ramadan to our non-Muslim constituency and friends as well as we organize programs in which we speak about Ramadan. We do this in conjunction with not only Islamic centers but even with groups and interfaith groups as well, so this has been a highly successful campaign."

Some events planned by Muslim Americans to educate other Americans about Islam during Ramadan include holding open houses at local mosques and Islamic centers, public lectures on Ramadan and interfaith Iftars. Muslim American organizations also place TV ads to remind all Americans that Muslims are an integral part of the American society.

Since the early 1990s, the president has issued happy Ramadan greetings to the more 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide, and he invites the ambassadors of Muslim countries and Muslim American leaders to the White House for Iftar.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 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。

3 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

4 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

5 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

6 catered   

提供饮食及服务( cater的过去式和过去分词 )； 满足需要，适合

参考例句：

• We catered for forty but only twenty came. 我们准备了40客饭菜，但只来了20个人。
• They catered for everyone regardless of social rank. 他们为所有人服务而不计较其社会地位。