Ramadan is here!

Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic year is upon us, beginning at sundown tonight.  At today's online class group meeting, I will inform the kids.  It is a complex holiday with many traditions and revealing insights into the foundations of the Muslim religion.  It is wonderful that it lasts one whole month, which will allow me to tell short stories each day we meet, gradually sharing all the richness of Ramadan, finally ending with  the breaking of the fast, the joyous Eid-al-Fitr.

At Easter time, for the past few years, The History Channel has broadcast an excellent mini-series, "The Bible."  It's sophisticated production really brought to life all the Bible stories I grew up hearing as a child. I have re-watched it several times. When I was a kid, the Bible was everywhere.  Most of my knowledge of the Good Book probably came from my doctor's office waiting room, where they had copies of the "Children's Illustrated Bible" along with "Highlights" for our entertainment.  I was fascinated by the story of the Flood and the graphic illustration of the poor sinners pounding on Noah's Arc as the waters rushed up around them, sealing their doom. Even though we were very inconsistent in our church-going, I absorbed a lot of the Christian tradition and oral history just through living in these United States. I happen to know more Bible stories than some of my Catholic friends who went to church "religiously" and learned all their catechisms and such.  My point is, back in my day, even the non-religious among us were exposed to a lot of Bible stories.  Quran stories, not so much.  (Case in point, spell-check did not know what to make of the word "Quran."

Ever since I first enjoyed that wonderful presentation of "The Bible" on The History Channel, I have thought how great it would be if they could produce one entitled "The Quran."  That's the book that non-Islamic Americans know so little about, but that is so important to a near-majority of the world's faithful.  29% of the world's people declare themselves to be Christian, 24% to be Muslim and 14% are Hindu. Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion. Yet everyone knows about Noah and Jesus and Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt.  We know about doves and olive branches and rainbows and fatted calves and prodigal sons even if we aren't Christian.  It is part of the culture and we don't find it threatening. But many people seem to feel threatened by Islam.  They seem to know a couple of concepts about the religion that do not suit them (veiling comes up a lot) and write if off as inferior to their own.  Or inferior to having no religion at all.  That is why we need a great blockbuster production of "The Quran" to make this holy book come alive for the general populace as well.  These are the stories we don't know.. Or do we?

Many people don't realize how much Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common.  They are all 3 Abrahamic religions, stemming from old Abraham's first encounter with God.  The Quran recognizes and tells stories of many of the same people as the Torah and the New Testament - Jesus, the Angel Gabriel, John the Baptist, Jacob, Elijah, Moses, all the heavy-hitters.  They have the story of the Flood, the plagues of Egypt, the Exodus, and others that are shared, with their own twists, to be sure, with the other Judeo-Christian religions.  My point is, it is our ignorance of Islam that creates suspicion.  That and a few yahoos doing unspeakable things and declaring it to be done in the name of Muhammad. This is a terrible blow to Islam.

So, if you know any Hollywood producers, please put the above bug in their ear.  I think Westerners would shell out $10 to satisfy their curiosity about this religion (without having to read the whole Quran) and would be better world citizens at the end.  Mark Burnett, the producer of  the CBS show "Survivor" and his wife, actress Roma Downey (who played Jesus' mother, Mary, beautifully) produced "The Bible,"  out of their own religious devotion.  I think it would serve humanity even more to elucidate us on the fascinating stories of this other, less-well-known-to-some-of-us religion.  Dr Montessori reminded us that we can only love that which we know.  Let's all get to know Islam a little better.

Your Guide,
Doni