Iftar back home is a communal event where every member of the family is normally present. The Maghrib Prayer is recited together, with the iftar meal following and everyone catches up with each other and relates how his or her day was. As minorities in London, Somalis find it incredibly difficult to practice a traditional iftar, except perhaps on weekends, because of the long days in schools, colleges, universities, and workplaces. However, Muslims have adapted their traditional fasting practices to Western living by holding communal daily iftars and prayers in educational establishments and workplaces. Consequently, they educate those around them, Muslim and non-Muslim, that Ramadan is just as relevant here and now.

Whenever I attended the Tarawih Prayers back home in Somaliland, I noticed how young the mosque goers were, particularly the women, and how the married and elderly women stayed at home to recite the Qur'an alone. Over here, I have witnessed Somali women aged even in their 60s regularly attend the Tarawih Prayers in numerous mosques across London. They have even acquired a reputation for their high attendance at my local masjid in Shepherd's Bush, where they make up a significant proportion of those praying. They feel very proud, and I can read the devotion in the lines on their faces, their stooped postures, their unusual silence during the prayers, and subsequently in their tortured expressions following the du`aa’ (supplication) with the imam. Hodan, a young Somali mother, comments on this phenomenon saying how men, women, and adolescents back home used to complete the Ramadan duties but didn't understand their benefits and blessings as they do now in the diaspora. She says this is the case for most Muslim ethnic minorities in the West because of the Islamic revival of the last 30 years.

Those women who cannot attend the Tarawih Prayers in the masjids recite them at home, alone or in small groups, as they used to back home. I myself adapted my prayers to my home environment when I could not attend the masjid. When I was single I prayed with a local friend taking it in turns to lead and recite directly from the mushaf (copy of the Qur’an). I have discovered these practices occur across the Muslim community here in London, particularly among women. It seems to be the return of a most welcome lost sunnah that actually empowers women by lifting them into the spiritual realm from the mundanities of domestic life and childrearing. Sado adds that another revived sunnah—i`tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)—has enjoyed increasing popularity by men and women over here, while women never attended i`tikaf in their home towns in Somaliland.

Due to the financial dependence poorer relatives have on more prosperous ones within the Somali culture and the absence of a welfare system, Somali families normally provide for their relatives and the needy back home. They also send their zakat al-fitr in mid-Ramadan so they can eat and dress well for the `Eid Al-Fitr celebrations. These celebrations are extremely important, and whole families still continue to attend `Eid Prayers together over here. Cooking in Ramadan and for the the `Eid day is substantial in the Somali community, but not so much that it hinders women from attending Tarawih and `Eid Prayers. This is unlike other Muslim communities in the United Kingdom, where swapping iftar invitations and consequently preparing various complicated, sumptuous dishes prevents women from the spiritually nourishing experience of Tarawih and `Eid Prayers in the masjid.

Sado meditates over how her small children will cope with fasting in Ramadan in years to come and the obstacles they may face. A way to combat the fear of feeling “other” perhaps is to maximize on the familiarity of Ramadan in Britain. The Muslim community could use Ramadan as month to embrace non-Muslims and educate them about Islam in a positive manner, through activities in homes, educational establishments, and masjids. All they need is an invitation.

*Zahrah Awalah holds a BA in Arabic language and an MA in Islamic studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. She resides in London with her husband and two children. You can contact her at z_awaleh@yahoo.com