Many non-Muslims view the month of Ramadan with great interest and curiosity. Very few, however, have tried to carry out its rituals and understand it. A rare exception is Brian Clewes, a religious education teacher for 22 years. Now head of religious education in a Sheffield Comprehensive, he is married and lives in Derbyshire with his wife and their two sons.
In 2002, Brian observed Ramadan “in an attempt to understand one aspect of Islam and discover what it is like to fast from dawn to dusk.” He kept a diary during the month, writing in it each day. This led him to empathize with an insider’s view and involved his suspending his beliefs and prejudices and entering fully into the Muslim experience. “During the period of Ramadan I experienced a sense of well-being,” he noted.
He also spent time in a Muslim environment with Iftikhar Minhas, “in order to gain an insider’s perspective of the experience.”
Brian learned how to perform Islamic ablutions (wudu) and also how to pray. His son asked him, “Are you a Muslim now, Daddy?” as he offered his first prayer on the 10th day of Ramadan in the morning. “It seems strange to say and think the words Allah Akbar (God is Great)…,” he noted in his diary that day. Two days later, he noted: “Reciting Allah Akbar is something which all monotheists would accept.”
In his diary for 14 Ramadan, he wrote, “I reflected on the first 14 days of my fast. It has been a period of self-discipline and increased awareness, of how food plays such an important role in our lives.” On 17 Ramadan, he noted, “I am beginning to accept wudu as a useful concept to prepare me for prayer, although it has not been easy to engage meaningfully in the rakahs. Maybe I have engaged at a purely intellectual level. I suspect that there has been a strong element of unconscious reluctance to accept such different concepts.
Furthermore, without a faith community it has not been possible to be educated in the religion,” he noted on Day 17. “I have so far maintained my fast and engaged in one prayer every day for the past week. Next week I am intending to engage in two prayers each day and attempt to become aware and reflect more deeply on my personal responses,” he added.
On 20 Ramadan, his diary entry was: “The cool water used for wudu has the effect of marking it out as different from having a shower. The inhaling of the water evokes the sensation of cleaning the inside or inner self and the washing of the feet made me feel that I was clean and ready to walk on the prayer mat. The notion of taking off shoes and socks to walk on holy ground is a powerful image from the Old Testament which Muslims take seriously and put into practice.”
On 21 Ramadan he still found the rakahs “rather contrived and lacking authenticity.” However, he said he was determined to suspend doubts and misconceptions in order to engage in meaning relating to this practice. “An increased familiarity with the rakahs will hopefully lead to a greater understanding of how it feels to be a practitioner. Does this mean that students of religious studies who do not profess a faith in God can appreciate the significance of Muslim prayers on an aesthetic level?” he asked.
The next day he found wudu felt more natural. “The prayer still lacks cohesion and authentic meaning. It is difficult to suspend my doubts and misconceptions — maybe because the Christian prayers and way of praying is preventing me from truly empathizing with the Muslim perspective,” he said.
That day he visited the Minhas family where he received a warm welcome and felt accepted. “They enabled me to feel a sense of belonging. Such a sense of belonging was not only a reflection on my ability to make myself one with the Muslim family, but the willingness of the family to offer me unconditional hospitality and make themselves one with me.” When they went to the mosque for Friday prayers, several Muslims greeted him with the traditional greeting ‘Assalaam u Alaikum.’ He wrote:“I do believe that Muslims can teach Christians about focusing on God through prayer.”
The next day he noted: “I can understand why many Muslims attend the mosque at prayer times, particularly during Ramadan, as the sense of community (solidarity) is so strong and that is an affirming experience in itself. Such a sense of solidarity not only encourages, but also develops, the faith of a religious adherent. Our personal faith is inextricably linked with that of the faith community.”
As time passed, he felt that wudu was beginning to have meaning as a ritual of inner purification preceding prayer. “I can relate to the notion of bowing down to God and humbling myself in the presence of God,” he wrote.
On 29 Ramadan, he felt himself “beginning to become more familiar with some of the prayers in the rakahs and some aspects are meaningful within my belief in God as Creator.” He added, “I felt that fasting had increased my confidence and sense of calm.”
Reflecting on his experience, he said he gained new personal insights and others about Islam itself. “The experience brought me to a greater awareness of the significance of Ramadan for the devout Muslim, and enabled me to appreciate an insider’s perspective of this religion. Furthermore, I became convinced that people of other religious traditions can experience an appreciation of an insider’s perspective,” he added.
“People of one religious tradition can put themselves into the shoes of someone in another tradition, providing they respect the religion and the members of the faith community. This can be realized at a superficial level or at a more profound level of empathy,” he observed.
On a superficial level a person would simply observe the fast and ‘go through the motions’ of the prayers without meaningful thought. It can perhaps be argued that many Muslims adopt such an attitude from time to time.
He found that in order to “gain an authentic appreciation of other people’s religious experiences, it was necessary to make a conscious effort to suspend personal prejudices. This involves being aware of one’s own belief and unbelief, while affirming the intention to enter into another person’s religious experience in depth. In order to appreciate this experience as an insider I was aware that I had to make a conscious and willing effort to enter into the life of a Muslim by fasting, praying and becoming one with the community. Before a Muslim prays he will perform (niyyah) which is intention to pray and is a form of preparation. My intention to adopt a positive attitude before fasting, prayer and participating in group solidarity determined the outcome,” he concluded.
At first he found Muslim prayer awkward and rather contrived, however he gradually came to feel that he could identify with millions of Muslims praying throughout the world. “This provided me with a strong image,” he said, and added, “My belief in the Oneness of God as Creator and Sustainer of the Universe coincides with the most important tenet of Islam — namely ‘There is no god but God.’ The clause after that one which relates to Muhammad (pbuh) as the Messenger of God did not prevent me from worshipping God in a mosque.”
