NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Makkah Ali and Ikhlas Saleem, co-hosts of the Identity Politics podcast, about what its like to observe Ramadan in the American workplace.
Muslims all around the world began to observe Ramadan this past week. It’s a holy month marked by prayer, acts of charity and fasting. No food, no drink during daylight hours. Here in Washington, for example, the fast can last over 16 hours. Though, if you’re unlucky enough to be in Greenland, it can last a whopping 20-plus hours, which – let’s face it – can be a challenge if you had to go to work. For some insight into what it’s like to observe Ramadan in the American workplace, here are Makkah Ali and Ikhlas Saleem, co-hosts of the podcast Identity Politics, which deals with Muslim life in America. Hello, and welcome to the program.
IKHLAS SALEEM: Hi. Thanks for having me.
MAKKAH ALI: Thank you so much for having us.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Ramadan Mubarak to both of you, of course, or Ramadan Kareem. I want to start by asking you this. I worked in Muslim-majority countries where, during Ramadan, it seemed like everyone was sort of in it together. It was a time where people felt a lot of solidarity with everyone else. So I want to hear from both of you where you work and what your experience has been like. Let’s start with you, Ikhlas.
SALEEM: Yes, so I had two work experiences where I was working in an environment with non-Muslim co-workers. And, of course, I was always asked the question that many Muslims are asked. Like, not even water (laughter)? And so for a lot of my co-workers, this was their first time encountering someone who is Muslim. And so I kind of was the test case of, like, OK, what did Muslims do? What’s Ramadan? A lot of the times they would forget (laughter). They would be like, do you want to go to lunch?
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Categories: Arab World, Asia, Islam