Faiths Together in Croydon

By Ramadanification we mean an embodiment of the values of Ramadan, but what are those values?

For billions of Muslims celebrating round the world, Ramadan is a month of mercy and forgiveness: a month in which Muslims (with a few acceptations, including young children, pregnant women, those traveling or sick) refrain from eating, drinking and engaging in sexual activities between dawn and sunset.

Fasting is considered a form of worship: a deeply personal encounter in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God.
A closeness to God, for Muslims, must also be illustrated by a closeness to their fellow neighbours and communities - regardless of the faith they hold (or none at all). As Muslims are reminded in their Holy Book - the Qur’an, that diversity is intended so that we strive with one another for the betterment of our world as a whole (5:48).

During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam by refraining from envy, greed, lust, ... gossip .... Muslims aspire to be shaped by Ramadan

- to be Ramadanified and share this contentment, blessing and ease with others. Muslims aim to foster a period of reflection, reunification and spiritual growth during Ramadan.

Ramadan evolves from beinf not only a name of the lunar month, but a virtue. The more Ramandified Muslims are, the more solidarity they will develop with their communities. 

Our theme this year is  - “Re-kindling the Community Spirit” - We all live our busy lives in one way or another.

Yet, this past year, with our struggle against the coronavirus - which didn’t recognise religion, race, lifestyle - it shook us all - we saw the bravery, solidarity, altruism deep within our society.  From simple things like checking in for our perhaps more vulnerable neighbours, to the hundreds of thousands of us who volunteered to support our National Health Service we were reminded of the greatness in our community spirit. We hope this year will be an opportunity to contemplate on this further and look into ways of how we can develop this further and carry it into our post-COVID world. How we can perhaps, re-kindle our community spirit, with lessons learnt from this past year, to implement a long-lasting peace and unity.

At the heart of our society is compassion for one another.

As the Dialogue Society we hope to develop creative strategies to build and maintain solidarity - we believe simple dialogue is the solution.

RAMADAN EVOLVES FROM BEING NOT ONLY A NAME OF THE LUNAR MONTH, BUT A VIRTUE.

Muslims aim to foster a period of reflection, reunification and spiritual growth during Ramadan.

For more information about Dialogue Society please visit www.dialoguesociety.org and follow @DialogueSociety on Twitter

*Fasting is considered a form of worship: a deeply personal encounter in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God."

 Iysha Arun- Dialogue Society