Rosh Hashanah<\/a>, which I feel is particularly serendipitous because of the similarity of both holidays. Both have a focus on seeking forgiveness and spiritual renewal, and both feature an extended period of soul-searching. And for one day, on Yom Kippur, both Jews and Muslims will be fasting until the sun sets.
\nI hope both faith communities take this opportunity to share at least part of this time celebrating under one roof. After all, this opportunity only comes around every 33 years. Two years ago, during my last year in graduate school at Georgetown, I organized a joint Rosh Hashana-Ramadan celebration for our fellow students, who enjoyed baklava, apples & honey, stuffed dates, challah, Turkish delight, and Indo-Pakistani sweets in between classes. It went over very well and help bond our communities together.
\nL’Shanah Tovah<\/i> and Ramadan Mubarak<\/i>! May both our peoples be blessed!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the disadvantages (depending on how you look at it) of basing Muslim holidays on a lunar calendar is that Ramadan is always on the move. Islamic holidays move backward at the rate of about 10 days per year with respect to the Gregorian calendar. Five years ago, Ramadan was planted firmly in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events"],"yoast_head":"\n
Ramadan & Rosh Hashanah: A Beautiful Clash of Civilizations - Hungry for Ramadan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ramadan\/2007\/09\/a-beautiful-clash-of-civilizat.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ramadan & Rosh Hashanah: A Beautiful Clash of Civilizations - Hungry for Ramadan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the disadvantages (depending on how you look at it) of basing Muslim holidays on a lunar calendar is that Ramadan is always on the move. Islamic holidays move backward at the rate of about 10 days per year with respect to the Gregorian calendar. 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Named one of ten \"Muslim visionaries\" by Islamica Magazine, Shahed's work and writings have been featured in magazines (Newsweek), newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune), radio shows (BBC News, National Public Radio, and major websites (BeliefNet.com). Television appearances include \"Nightline with Ted Koppel\", CNN Headline News, the \"Today Show\", and \"Hannity & Colmes\". Shahed is the founder of Halalfire Media, a network of Islamic-themed websites with nearly 6 million visitors annually. Along with altmuslim.com, signature properties include zabihah.com, salatomatic.com, halalapalooza.com, and unitedmuslims.org. He has also served as a board member for the United Muslims of America, the Muslim Public Service Network, and the Muslim Youth Camp of California. 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One of the disadvantages (depending on how you look at it) of basing Muslim holidays on a lunar calendar is that Ramadan is always on the move. Islamic holidays move backward at the rate of about 10 days per year with respect to the Gregorian calendar. Five years ago, Ramadan was planted firmly in the wintertime, which meant that fasting could end as early as 4 or 5 pm. In another five, however, Ramadan will encroach on summertime, where days stretch on until 9 pm or later. (I began fasting at age 14, when Ramadan was in the middle of summer, so fasting comes pretty easy for me.)