Elisa prefers not to get her last name published in this story. Seven years ago she converted to Islam and considers that being a Muslim of Spanish parents is “an extra challenge, because it is not usual”. “The stereotype pulls a lot, both on the Muslim side and on the non-Muslim side,” says the 39-year-old teacher.

Festive decoration fills the streets of Muslim-majority countries these days, because Ramadan is – above all – a celebration, one in memory of when they believe that the Quran was revealed to Muhammad. In fact, at the end of this lunar month next week, gifts are given at the Eid al-Fitr celebration.

In Europe it is difficult to find a place where public spaces show any sign of this special month for 5% of its population. One of those corners is in Ceuta (Spain). Special street lighting is installed in their streets to wish happy Ramadan to the Muslim population.

The lawyer and town councillor from Ceuta, Fatima Hamed ​​Hossain (40), says the atmosphere in her city is what she likes best at this time of the year. “Fortunately, the fact that almost half of the Spanish people here keep the fasting in the month of Ramadan encourages interaction, coexistence and mutual knowledge”.

“The community spirit is what I like the most about Ramadan. It’s like a month-long festival”

— Tez Ilyas, stand-up comedian

The “community spirit” is also what the British stand-up comedian Tez Ilyas (35) likes most about Ramadan. “It’s like a month-long festival,” he smiles. Although Ramadan is usually known to non- Muslims as the fasting month, for the Muslims Salam Plan has spoken to that aspect is almost the least important.

Muslim communities organize activities such as the soccer championships or long walks in the Spanish town of Melilla. They often also meet in group dinners for the celebration of Iftar, when they break fasting at sunset. Sometimes these meetings are even interreligious to encourage dialogue, like the ones that Arco Forum and Casa Turca (‘Turkish Home’) have been organizing in Madrid for the past six years. Or like “The Big Iftar” that took place this week for the first time in the British Parliament.

That is so, because Ramadan is also to share “moments of exchange and fraternity,” Iaad Ben Diah (26) explains. He is from Toulouse (France), although he has been living in Paris for three years now. He is studying a PhD in mathes and chairs the association of Muslim Students of France (EMF). He assures that neither in his city nor in the French capital has he ever had any problem to celebrate Ramadan, despite the growing Islamophobia and the many supporters Marine Le Pen reaps in the country.

“There is the France of media and the France on the ground. I live very well as a French citizen of Muslim creed (…). France is a country of freedom and tolerance where everyone can live their faith and religious festivities with all serenity,” he argues. “Mrs. Le Pen has no impact on my daily personal life really.”

Asif Arif (30), a Parisian lawyer and regular contributor to various French media, agrees: “Not everyone in the outside world understands the spirit of Ramadan. The most difficult part is also the media controversy surrounding Islam. But we live in France, a free country, where people respect each other and understand that we must live together.”

A flexible at work schedule is appreciated, nothing more is needed

Tez is a comedian who usually jokes about his own circumstances as a British Muslim and the prejudices against those who profess Islam. “For those of you who don’t know that much about us, you might recognize us from such hate TV shows as the news,” he said in one of his shows on BBC.

But he does not mention any bad experience when answering Salam Plan‘s questions about Ramadan in the United Kingdom, at work neither. “In my experience, employers are usually very accommodating,” he says. In his opinion, it would basically be to allow a flexible schedule during this month.

“Starting later and having a shorter lunch break to make-up for the last time and maybe being a little conscientious about food and water near desks,” he suggests.

Ceuta lawyer, Fatima, has trouble these days paying attention to the alarm clock and that’s why she takes advantage of lunch time to take a “little nap”. She also “hardly” perceives difficulties in her working environment for Muslims to celebrate their month of shared spirituality. Fatima is self-employed and can organize herself, but she has not detected problems for employed persons either.

“What people usually do in several companies is changing shifts, holiday periods etc. to make things easier for other colleagues. The same is done at Christmas”

— Fatima H. Hossain, lawyer and town councillor

“What people usually do in several companies is changing shifts, holiday periods etc. to make things easier for other colleagues. The same is done for example at Christmas, where those who do not celebrate try to cover our peers who do,” she explains.

Elisa agrees that her usual schedule is the main difference during Ramadan. “We get up early, so I try to leave a while free to rest in the afternoon, since there are also many hours of light.” As a teacher, her work does not allow her to vary anything on her time scheme, but she can in another practical aspect: “I have to talk a lot and I cannot refresh my throat, as I usually do, so I have to avoid wearing down”.

In Germany, Naima Niazy (28) cannot help but getting irritated by a co-worker who asks each year again if fasting also includes not being able to drink. “This question and lack of comprehension occur so often, that sometimes I want to print out a T-shirt that reads: ‘Yes, cannot drink either,'” she admits.

At the same time, this postdoctoral researcher in molecular biology admits that what she likes best about Ramadan in Germany is the interest shown by non-Muslims: “They inform themselves and take it into account, simply because they like me (…). Conversations arising from curiosity and without prejudice enrich me and help me to learn new perspectives, regardless of whether in the end I have the same opinion or not.”

Iaad, the representative of the Muslim students of France, assures that “those who fast have a totally normal life during Ramadan. My fast should not be imposed on anything about my coworkers or the university world.”

Asif, the Parisian lawyer, says he always tries to be “more calm” and “temper the nerves” at work, as part of that “attempt to evolve towards more spirituality” during Ramadan.

Do not get angry and other top goals in Ramadan

“I actually enjoy the hunger and the thirst. It reminds me how lucky I am that I live in a part of the world where I can generally eat what I like whenever I want,” Tez says. “It’s a really special time where everyone is pulling in the same direction to be a better person.”

Elisa emphasizes that “fasting involves an entire attitude, which goes beyond stopping eating and drinking.” This includes, for example, “to avoid getting angry or talking badly; it is always that way, but during this period, with more reason”.

That positive attitude is what prevents Naima from carrying out her desire to print out that T-shirt. She believes that this other aspect of Ramadan often does not get the necessary importance: neither to get angry, nor to bother others nor to carry out “meaningless discussions”. “We all say things that are not especially kind or we exchange the latest gossip with our colleagues. It is something that becomes part of the daily life and does not kill anyone, so it is good to be aware of it and work on it,” she says.

Interreligious Iftar organized by Arco Forum and ‘Turkish Home’ in Madrid. © Salam Plan

Another maxim in Ramadan is to help the needy. The British comedian says that “it’s also a month where we really think about charity, Muslims dig really deep in our pockets in this month to help those less fortunate than us around the world.” Naima points out that charity can also consist in helping acquaintances or neighbours or “simply smile to another person”.

Asif believes that the altruistic aspect is the least known of Ramadan among non-Muslims. He also explains that it is not only about sharing material aspects with others, but also about “debating and getting better together”. For him, this month has an important “dimension of freedom, choice and altruism”.

It is not torture, but this is what costs the most

“Ramadan is not an insurmountable test that is summarized in refraining from eating and drinking,” Iaad emphasizes. It serves to “reconnect with the essential (…), the piety” towards God. That’s why he goes to the mosque every night and the day usually ends around 1 in the morning, he says with a smile.

The few hours of sleep are an aspect that is repeated among Muslims who participate in this story, as much or more than the lack of food and drink during the day. And when Ramadan falls in summer, the short European nights sometimes demand fasting during 19 hours, highlights Tez, the British comedian.

“The night time prays (Tarawee) at the mosque” are the hardest for him. ” Over the month the Imam prays the entire Qur’an in congregation. It’s tiring and takes about an hour every night,” he explains. The next day, Muslim believers will have to get up before the first sun rays appear to eat and do the first of the five prayers of the day. Some people go back to bed, others feel too sated to sleep.

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Loneliness during dinner is what is most difficult for Naima these days, as it is normally a time to celebrate and to share with a group, either with the family or other people. She does not live with anyone and, although she recognizes that she could meet for Iftar with other believers in a mosque, she does not want to. It is the family the ones she misses.

For Elisa, the Spanish teacher, the most difficult thing to celebrate Ramadan in Europe is that “the usual working and social calendar is ongoing and sometimes it is not easy to combine with.” But at the same time she emphasizes that she “enjoys it with a lot of freedom”. She adds: Ramadan is “a practice that produces immense joy; It is not torture.”

For all these European citizens Ramadan is an opportunity to devote more time to their faith and their relationship with God, as well as to work to become a better person and spend more time in community. The essence does not seem so different from the meaning of Christian festivities such as Easter and Christmas. By the way, Muslims also believe in Jesus as an “envoy” of God.

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La entrada This is how Ramadan goes for Muslims from Europe: much more than fasting se publicó primero en Salam Plan.

Abdellah Boussouf is a Moroccan historian and since 2007 he leads the Council placed by king Mohammed VI of Morocco in Rabat. His latest work (published in Arab, French and Spanish for now) offers a compilation of essays in which he reviews historical episodes, Quranic quotes and texts of the Muslim prophet Mohammed to demonstrate that Islam is a religion of peace and respect for the ones who are different. He talked with Salam Plan at Casa Árabe (Arab House) in Madrid about this call for dialogue and a good coexistence.

In your book you write about historical moments in which different religions and cultures lived in peace. What has changed so much that it makes this so difficult in some cases nowadays?

Today we live a very difficult situation of Islam in the world. We have two extremes: the extreme of Islamophobia, racism (and) we have the other extreme: fundamentalism, radicalization and even terrorism. This book is a reminder for those who try to manipulate Islam, who try to instrumentalize it from both sides. It is meant to tell them that it is not Islam what they use, but lies about Islam. Islam has nothing to do with terrorism or fear. So Islam is not here to invade Europe or to be an element of clash with Westerners.

Islam is a religion like any other, a religion of peace, tolerance and coexistence. The historical description of fourteen centuries shows that Islam has never known terrorist movements against each other. It has never been in a situation of conflict related to a religious or philosophical conviction.

And why is there now so much Islamophobia and Islamist radicalism?

As far as Islamophobia is concerned, there is an unjustified fear. This fear is due to a total ignorance of Islam, today in our societies we know Islam very, very little. And we are afraid of the unknown. It was a great intellectual of Palestinian origin named Edward Said who spoke of the “shock of ignorances”. We are living that moment now.

As for the Muslims, in the case of those who claim to use Islam to perpetrate fear and terrorism, they have nothing to do with Islam. For us -I come from Morocco-, the King delivered a speech aimed at the Moroccan nation and the whole world in which he said that “the authors of a terrorist act are not Muslims”. Therefore, there is a manipulation of one side and the other: either for Islam to scare or to justify horrible acts of terrorism.

You claim that Islam is a peaceful religion, but Islamophobes and radical Islamists believe it is synonymous with war. What would you answer?

Islam has never been a religion of war. In this book, I start with Quranic texts that clearly say: “Whoever kills a soul, it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one soul, it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” Islam takes life and not death, contrary to what we are told today by these factions, which -fortunately- are not the majority and who preach hatred to others. The extremes meet, they feed each other.

“Terrorism has no nationality or religion”

In the recent attacks in Catalonia, the terrorists were of Moroccan origin (although all raised in Spain) and analysts tried to find in that origin the source of their motivations to kill. Do you think that is part of the explanation?

First: terrorism has no nationality or religion. They were of Moroccan origin but lived in Spain and were, mostly, Spanish citizens. And also the other perpetrators of the attacks in Belgium and France, European citizens.

I think that this is the mistake, that of trying to attach the responsibility to a country, an ethnic origin or a religion. I advocate a shared responsibility, we are all responsible today for this phenomenon that threatens us all. Moroccans have also paid a high price; and in (all) Africa, and in other places.

In another book, “L’origine” (The Origin), I try to explain why. It is a set of elements. I don’t think there is a magic recipe to say “this is the one responsible”, nor is there a single solution. There is a manipulation of religion, but there are also social reasons that must be addressed, because we must not allow social problems to absorb young people and become easy prey for the death recruiters.

“Islam and the universal common” is the title of the book you are presenting now. What three things would you highlight that Muslims, Jews and Christians have in common?

They are the three monotheistic religions, we worship the same God. A great Jesuit, Pierre de Chardin, said: “Everything that rises, converges”. So we converge on the same God.

Islam is a religion like any other. I think there are many things that unite us and very few things that separate us. We adore the same God, we have acts of adoration that are present in the three religions.
As believers we have to face the great challenges of our century. Humanity today is threatened by climate change, wars, family… In the past, Christians, Muslims and Jews contributed to the development of civilization, especially in Spain.

Andalusia is spoken of as the “paradise on earth”, where the three religions coexisted perfectly and in a very positive way. Jews, Muslims and Christians, who handed over Toledo, Cordoba, Seville and Sicily in Italy, but also Fez and Marrakech… history has many examples of living together.

The thirteenth century saw the defeat of Navas de Tolosa (Spain) in 1212. There were 1,100 peace and trade treaties between the two shores of the Mediterranean at a time when there were no communication media like today. There was much exchange and fluidity between the two shores of the Mediterranean. Despite current technologies, today we have not reached this level.

“Media only speak when there are terrorist attacks, so we leave the field free for the xenophobes”

You worked for intercultural dialogue in France and Belgium, two countries with good electoral results for anti-Muslim political parties. How -do you think- that Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders, leaders of the extreme right in the respective countries, are successful?

There are several factors. They are trying to cultivate fear of Islam, but there are other reasons: economic, social problems. Marine Le Pen has no plans for the French society, it has no solution for the crisis in that country. So scaring voters is the best way to attract a certain number of them, who sometimes lose confidence in the political apparatus.

I also think that media play a very important role: they only talk about trains that arrive late, they only speak when there are attacks, when there is an imam who makes a small statement … but when there are things that unite all the believers, all cultures, they don’t publish it. I created many initiatives in France of interculturality, interreligiousness, but nobody talks about that. Thus we leave the field free for the xenophobes, for the fascists.

Do you think these are the same problems for which France and Belgium have seen the followers of Daesh grow?

Yes, in some neighborhoods there are many problems: young people who don’t go to school, who are jobless, whith ignorance of religion, identity crisis … We have not done much to solve this, both the host countries and those of origin. We have not done what is necessary to accompany them, to allow these young people to access their identity and find a certain balance. We leave them alone. And, obviously, the fundamentalists, the terrorists recruit in these environments, where they (the youngsters) live in situations of fragility.

And when you talk to the authorities about doing something in favour of dialogue, what do they say?

Many people in Europe speak of ‘deradicalization’ as a system to deal with this phenomenon of Daesh and other groups, to which I do not give much credit. It takes a lot of work, mentalities and all the actors must work in the same direction. From the family, society, school, political parties, the media and the academic world … we should all pull together in the same direction. We face human beings and we must address them in their entirety: (taking into account the) material, psychic and intellectual (aspects).

What would you say to an extremist, be it Islamophobic or fundamentalist Islamist, if you had one in front of you?

I would tell him: “I’m like you. I’m a human being like you, you should not hate me or kill me, because killing me is like killing yourself, and by hating me, you hate yourself. We need each other, we won’t be able to continue living on this planet if we try to reject each other, the only alternative we have is to respect each other and work together”.

La entrada Abdellah Boussouf: “To the extremists: ‘Do not hate me, because it would mean hating yourself” se publicó primero en Salam Plan.