Festive Spirits
Zahra Yusufali Sabur, who was born Muslim and is a mother to three young children, said even those of her generation must take pains to carve out Ramadan memories for themselves and their family members.
When she lived in Dubai, feeling the festive spirit of Ramadan was easy and came naturally. But once Sabur came to the States, things changed drastically.
“Here the holiday disappeared for me,” she said, “and I didn’t want that for my kids.”
Seeking out her own Ramadan remedies, Sabur stumbled upon a Mommy and Me-type library program called Happy Hearts in California. It was offered by a Muslim mother and aimed to teach pre-school children about Islam, including Ramadan.
“We were getting people together to do story time. The kids would come in and we’d have a dua song, read stories and do a craft. I ended up taking over the class and, though we started small with only 10 families, in two years we had 50-60 parents all trying to get their kids in. This tells me there is such a need for (this type of programming) for toddlers and kids who aren’t yet in school.”
Now that Sabur, a former teacher, has moved to Minnesota, she’s started Happy Hearts in her new home. With Ramadan right around the corner, she’s readying her small students for the month.
“We’re doing a special session and building excitement and treating Ramadan as the amazing holiday it is,” she said. “My classes are decorated, we’re reading Ramadan books, having date tastings and making lanterns for their homes and salat rugs for their Teddy Bears to pray on. It’s just very exciting for them.”
She said her classes not only instill Islamic knowledge but help contribute to children’s sense of self and Muslim identity.
“(In my classes) the kids see other kids who look like them; that is key,” Sabur said, adding of her instructional direction, “We also make sure that Allah isn’t a distant figure by creating a very loving idea of who our Lord is. We never talk about Allah’s punishment, only His compassion and mercy to make Him very present in the kids’ world and help them to be excited about talking about Him.”
RNS photo by Sally Morrow.