Help reaches across cultures, across town

A local doctor's idea to use Ramadan's ideals to aid others at Thanksgiving spreads to other communities, near and far.

By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published November 25, 2004

Dr. Adel Eldin never expected that American and Muslim traditions could mesh so well.

The Spring Hill cardiologist first thought to link Thanksgiving with Ramadan when the American holiday started coinciding with the Muslim holy season for the first time in many years - a few months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"We thought, how could we make that Thanksgiving really special," said Eldin, 42, who organized Ramadan-Thanksgiving food baskets for Hernando County's needy, a program that is now in its fourth year. "We wanted a nice gesture from fellow American Muslims to show that they do love their citizens and they do know what hunger feels like, especially during Ramadan."

This year, following Hernando's lead, Muslims nationwide have taken to sharing the spirit of Ramadan through charitable Thanksgiving endeavors, sponsoring dinners and food baskets in communities as far away as San Francisco and Cincinnati. Muslims in Tampa sponsored a Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday for the needy, based on Eldin's concept, even though Ramadan ended two weeks ago.

"Even a year ago, we didn't have these types of sharing events, introducing Muslim communities to feeding the hungry," said Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Florida chapter of Council of American-Islamic Relations, which has sponsored many of the dinners in local chapters nationwide. "This year, we launched this campaign to feed the needy, based partly on the success we've had in Brooksville."

The idea was born of Eldin's childhood memories of Ramadan back in his homeland of Egypt.

Muslims believe Ramadan is the month when God revealed the Koran to Mohammed, an illiterate Arab trader who became the prophet of Islam more than 1,400 years ago.

That book commands Muslims to avoid food, drink, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset for 30 days. It also encourages Muslims to increase their charitable givings to those less fortunate.

During Ramadan, Eldin's grandmother sent him out to the streets to deliver food trays to the hungry and the needy.

In 2001, Eldin and his family gave the United Way $3,000 to create Ramadan-Thanksgiving food baskets using Publix groceries. The money paid for about 100 baskets, which fed families of four. In 2002, some of Eldin's patients and staff members pitched in and contributed money for the food baskets.

In 2003, the last time Thanksgiving and Ramadan coincided, the Hernando program attracted the attention of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit Muslim advocacy and civil rights group that goes by the acronym CAIR.

Given the national climate, with continued hostility and isolated attacks against American Muslims, the national organization decided to broadcast the concept of sharing Thanksgiving dinners and food baskets during the Ramadan season to all of its chapters.

That's not to say that American Muslims had never shared meals with the public previously.

In fact, several communities, especially those near universities, have often invited the public to iftars, the dinner after sunset that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan. Those dinners had not been linked to Thanksgiving, however, and tended to be more educational than charitable.

Once CAIR got involved, more Muslims took notice and embraced the idea of feeding the needy during Ramadan.

In Cincinnati, the local CAIR chapter sponsored a dinner to feed the homeless in 2003 and also gave out Thanksgiving baskets. That event grew this year, and dinners were organized in inner-city Cincinnati and Columbus, with hundreds in attendance.

"We try to look at some of the best projects, and we took this idea from Florida," said Jad Humeidan, executive director of CAIR-Ohio, who plans to launch a third dinner next year in Cleveland.

Muslims also sponsored similar dinners for the needy earlier this month in California and Michigan, according to the national organization in Washington. Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Muslims also sponsored charitable dinners.

"You draw on the common value during Thanksgiving and Ramadan, the giving to the poor and the sharing of meals," said Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the national CAIR organization. "It's something very popular, and American Muslims feel comfortable and can relate to that."

This year, Ramadan ended about two weeks ago, and will not likely coincide with Thanksgiving again for several years. But local Muslims say they plan to continue the Ramadan-Thanksgiving tradition.

In Hernando County, the program has evolved from food baskets into food vouchers for Thanksgiving items, so families can choose the products they want.

The United Way of Hernando County distributed the gift certificates earlier this week, each worth $25, to be used during the Thanksgiving season toward food purchases. Families are not allowed to buy tobacco, alcohol or lottery tickets with the money, United Way director Valerie Hunt said.

Last week, the Hernando County Commission officially recognized the local Muslim community for its organization of the Ramadan-Thanksgiving food basket program, which raised more than $6,000 and provided food for about 250 families this year.

Jennifer Liberto can be reached at 352 848-1434 or liberto@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 25, 2004, 00:12:21]