LV Muslims begin Ramadan season of fasting

Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 | 10:35 a.m.

Recent Muslim convert Alexis Aminah Amberg plans to get through the mandatory fasting of the Ramadan holiday by brushing her teeth a lot and using mouthwash.

A twig of a woman already, the 30-year-old said she's not sure she can handle going from dawn to dusk with no food or drink. As a Realtor for One Cap Realty, she said she's also worried that her dry mouth will lead to bad breath that will turn away her customers.

The mouthwash is plan B for the single mom. Plan A was to chew gum to keep her mouth wet and her mind off food, but she found out that is not allowed.

"I've never fasted in my life, so I'm scared," Amberg said Thursday night at a pre-Ramadan feast at the Jame Masjid mosque on Desert Inn Road near Nellis Boulevard.

After 14 years in Las Vegas, including some time as a cocktail waitress at one of the hotels, the former Christian said she was drawn to the conservatism and discipline of Islam and was eager to experience the spiritual aspects of Ramadan with others in the Islamic faith.

Even if she can't chew gum.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam that Muslims perform to show submission to Allah, whom they view as the one true God shared by all monotheistic faiths, local Muslim leaders said.

Muslims abstain from food and drink during the sunlight hours throughout the month of Ramadan, the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar, as a way to reflect on their lives, practice self-control, draw closer to God and recognize their dependence on him, and to remind themselves of the needs of the poor, local Muslim said Thursday.

Ramadan prayers begin tonight and fasting starts Saturday.

"Being able to forget about worldly things, that's the whole point of Ramadan," Amberg said. "What I've been taught and what I've learned is that being able to sacrifice food, water, sex -- all those things -- allows you to be able to appreciate more the people who don't have food. It's the only way to see how they experience life every day."

Muslims make special donations to the poor and hungry during Ramadan and many attending the dinner Thursday said they planned to send money back to relatives in Southwest Asia, particular Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

The Jame Masjid mosque will also be offering free Ramadan dinner to anyone in need throughout the month, Aslam Abdullah, director of the Islamic Society of Nevada, said.

Local Muslims said they get up before dawn each day to eat breakfast and then break their fasts at dusk by eating dates. Each evening is spent at the mosque or with family, praying, eating and celebrating the day's fast. Each evening Muslims read aloud one-thirtieth of the Quran, the Islamic holy book.

In addition to the fasting, Muslims abstain from sex and any negative behavior, such as expressing anger, Muslim leaders said.

"Ramadan is about respecting others and finding peace with oneself and society," Abdullah said.

Cheating during Ramadan is out of the question, Muslims attending the feast Thursday said. But that doesn't mean that they don't struggle at times to get through the day.

"I've done it since the age of 6, so I'm pretty use to it," Valley High School senior Natasha Ahmed, 17, said. "The problem was in P.E. (physical education) when we had to run the mile."

The challenges of fasting force her to "lean more into God than at any other time" Ahmed said, and the experience strengthens both her trust in God and her own will power.

There are times during the fasting, however, when Ahmed said she really, really wants a drink of water.

When those temptations come, she said she prays: "Allah, make me stronger than what I'm feeling right now, quench my thirst in your own way.

"And surprisingly, the saliva does it."

Her brother Ather Ahmed, a 22-year-old senior majoring in health care administration at UNLV, said the hardest part is getting up before dawn in order to eat breakfast.

For him, the fasting is no more than "skipping lunch," and he uses the time during Ramadan to reflect on how he cam "improve himself in the years to come." Ather Ahmed said he focuses on the Quran during Ramadan in order to become a better Muslim.

"Temptation is there, but it's the ultimate test of how you can hold yourself," Ather Ahmed said. "If you cheat you only cheat on yourself."

On the 27th day of Ramadan, Muslims say special prayers and eat sweets in honor of the "Night of Power," the evening when Islamic tradition says the Prophet Muhammad first received revelation from God through the angel Gabriel.

The month of fasting ends with feasting and the exchange of gifts during Id al-Fitr, which local Muslims described as similar to Christmas.

The whole month is a time to be together with family, and just enjoy one another apart from the craziness of life, Rokai Yusufzai, 39, said. Like any other American family, Yusufzai said his family often eats on the run in between the children's soccer matches and other demands.

"During the holiday, we fast all day and then come home and eat together," Yusufzai said. "It's going to be great."