Eid mubarak!

YESTERDAY

Family: How was your day at work?
Me: Very quiet.
Family: What do you mean?
Me: It's Eid.
Family: What?
Me: It's Eid. The biggest Muslim holiday of the year. The end of fasting for Ramadan. None of my Muslim students were at school today.

I wonder how long it will take for America to add Eid to our collection of marketable holidays. I'm sure there are already greeting cards. The greeting card companies know what everyone needs to say long before they do. Eid is a big shopping time. New clothes. New shoes. Tons of food. How long before the newspaper ads have pictures of mouthwatering goat stew, enticing shoppers to get the best deal on halal meats in the Twin Cities? Because that's what America does to holidays. We sell them to people. Easter baskets, Black Friday sales, Hanukah and Christmas wrapped up.

Ramadan is harder to wrap because it's the absence of something. Food, water, sleep. For a month, my students dragged themselves to class hungry, thirsty, and sleep deprived. They weren't allowed to eat or drink while the sun was up, so this time it was particularly tough. Ramadan straddled the summer solstice. From a teaching perspective, this isn't ideal. It interferes with learning. By the time my evening students left class, they hadn't put anything into their mouths for over fifteen hours.

Or maybe they had. One of my students was still waiting for a ride when I came out to my car. "Have a great Eid," I said.

"Teacher," she said in a spontaneous confession. "I ate breakfast today." She looked miserable.

"Well, you have to take care of yourself," I said. Completely logical, but completely sinful according to her religion.

Another student came up to me during Ramadan and said, "Teacher, we're praying that you become Muslim!"

I took it as a compliment because if there's one very positive thing about Ramadan, it's that it creates a sense of community. You may be suffering, but you're not doing it alone. Not only does God notice what you're doing, but your fellow fasters do, too. So my student was inviting me into community.

(Which isn't what if feels like with some Christians. With them, I feel like the offer to pray for me is because I've failed to do it myself. I should know better. I was raised in a culture dominated by Christianity and shaped by its judgements.)

All of this Muslim goodwill during Ramadan makes me wonder about the violence we've seen. Orlando, Istanbul, Kabul, Dhaka... The fact that these occurred during the holy month makes it obvious that they weren't motivated by Islam, the religion that makes you feel guilty for eating breakfast when everyone else is hungry.

Eid mubarak, everyone. Blessed Eid.