Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr at one of the region’s biggest mosques
On Friday, Muslims from all over the North Bay celebrated Eid-al-Fitr, a festival marking the breaking of the monthlong spiritual practice of fasting called Ramadan. Some 2,000 people poured into The Islamic Center of Vallejo for a final day of prayer, community and home-cooked food.
“The fast is not only for just eating and drinking. It’s a whole way of life,” said Mustafa Ahmed, a leader at the center. “There’s a physical aspect, but the spiritual aspect is the most important.”
Ahmed spoke at a February American Canyon City Council meeting, when Mayor Pierre Washington invited Muslim leaders to come to the city for a ceremony honoring the start of Ramadan.
“While we’re abstaining from food,” he said, “we’re trying to abstain from backbiting, lying, being deceitful — any really bad sin. We’re trying to avoid that, trying to be a better person.”
On a warm night early in Ramadan, kids yelled and chased each other in a playground behind the masjid, running gleefully over hundreds of shoes gathered at the entrance to the women’s section, which is on the other side of the building from the men’s section.
The women’s section was abuzz with activity. In one room, women sat at tables to break the day’s fast, eating hot homemade chicken curry, salad and rice. Around the corner, some rested with sleeping newborns while teenaged girls sat on the floor chatting. In a nearby kitchen, several women rushed to close up shop to make it to the final prayers. Next door, some sat in prayer as the imam’s voice filled the room, blocking out the sounds of children in the halls.
Ramadan’s importance “is such a huge question,” said Nada Ibrahim, Ahmed’s wife. “Everybody has a different answer.”
Ibrahim explained that every person’s concept of discipline and growth is unique to their life, though the intention is to become closer to Allah.
The Islamic Center of Vallejo is the region’s biggest mosque and drew hundreds of worshippers between Feb. 17 to March 20 for Ramadan prayers, lectures and meals. Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month in the 12-month Islamic calendar, the month when the quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
The Muslim community in the North Bay is strong but doesn’t have a lot of options like the Vallejo masjid. People come from American Canyon, Napa, Benicia, Fairfield, Vacaville, Davis and all over to congregate in the large complex.
Like many mosques in the area, the Islamic Center started up in a basement in 1985. The group quickly outgrew its digs. Following the 2008 market crash, they moved to its current space in a vacant church in south Vallejo, opening up for worship in 2012. While this masjid has been welcomed by the greater community in Vallejo, said Lewis, other mosques in the Bay Area aren’t so lucky. Some face pushback, heightened during Ramadan, when more people show up for services.
Some observant Muslims practice fasting year-round, and they accept outsiders with open arms. It shows: Each year, the congregation is growing.
“If you want to just come and show up one night, you will be fed,” said Kaitlin, aka Khadijah, Lewis, who converted to Islam 14 years ago.
Over the years, the masjid has become an incredibly close-knit community, like a family, and acts as a refuge for many. Multiple people agreed that trust is a big part of life at the masjid.
“You set your purse down; I’m not worried about someone taking my purse,” said Lewis.
“You see somebody taking care of all the kids. My daughter just ran in here — I know she’s being watched,” agreed Nada Ibrahim, a longtime masjid member and Mustafa Ahmed’s wife. The mosque also offers counseling, youth groups and meal programs for unhoused people called All For You.
Ibrahim was born in Egypt and grew up in New York, where she met Ahmed. Now, they’ve made a home at the Vallejo masjid, where they’re watching generations of friends’ children and their own children grow up in the mosque community.
“When I came here, it was very welcoming,” said Ibrahim, “with people saying, ‘you should come to this, you should come to that.’ You feel like you’re part of a community — even when you’re busy with work and life, you come back here — it brings you back home.”
Most congregants are born and raised in Islam, and many come from Pakistan. After Arabic, Urdu is the most commonly spoken language at the center.
Until recently, American Canyon had a masjid of its own, in a house right on Broadway known as Darul Arqum, with a full kitchen and bathroom. “I became Muslim there; I got married there,” remembered Lewis.
Lewis’ children attend school in American Canyon and are being raised in the religion. The strong sisterhood of the masjid pulled Lewis into the religion.
“What I love about Islam is that it’s an obligation for all people who are Muslim to be continually learning,” Lewis said. “You have to continue to better yourself, because there’s always room for improvement.” Ramadan offers an intensified opportunity to hone in on that learning.
“With all the distractions — social media, Hollywood, your nine-to-five job — it’s a way to help sharpen your focus on what’s really important. Looking at the things we take for granted all the time: our health and our community.”
