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Toronto
Star
LIFE,
Saturday, December 16, 2000
Young
skater doesn't
eat or slow down during Ramadan fast
Sofia Mumtaz has
been practising spins and salchows since she was 6 1/2 years
old.
This month her
skating classes at the Thornhill Community Centre coincide with
sunset, the time to break her Ramadan fast, but this hasn't
deterred the determined 12-year-old from skating or fasting.
She's not willing to compromise on either account.
"When she
first started fasting four years ago, I explained to her that it
was not obligatory for her at that age," says Sofia's
mother, Barbara. "But she insisted that she wants to keep
all her fasts despite her demanding skating and volleyball
schedule.
"It doesn't
bother her that time to (break) her fast falls in the middle of
her figure skating. She gets a drink and eats a piece of fruit
and then she's off again to practise till it's time
to go home
and eat properly."
Ramadan, the
ninth month of the Islamic calendar, started for the Greater
Toronto Area's large Muslim population on Nov. 27. The date
moves back 10 days every year because Muslims follow a lunar
calendar, which is 10 days short of the Gregorian. In this
period of 29 or 30 days, (depending on sighting of the moon),
all able-bodied Muslims who have reached the age of maturity
(around 13 years for girls and 15 for boys) are required to
abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset everyday.
Small children,
the elderly, people who are ill, pregnant women and those on a
journey are exempt from fasting. The month of fasting culminates
in the largest Muslim festival called Eid-al-Fitr.
Sofia, a Grade 7
student at Brownridge Public School in Thornhill, rises before
at dawn every day to a breakfast of cereal, tea and toast.
"It's
important that I eat in the morning because being around food
can be hard. I'm lunchroom monitor so obviously I have to make a
concentrated effort not to nibble here and there," she
says.
"Also, I
practise figure skating and volleyball everyday, so I need the
strength. It doesn't bother me to wake up early because I can go
back to sleep after the morning prayers."
Sofia's elder
brother, Nadeem, 14, is a soccer fan and plays both soccer and
basketball everyday. He started fasting four years ago when he
was only 10.
'The intention of
fasting is to follow your normal, everyday routine'"My
cousins who live in Toronto used to fast and I liked the idea,
so I decided to fast as well. My grandma told us about the
importance of fasting so both my sister and I started keeping
all our fasts. Since then, the only time I haven't fasted is
when I was ill."
Nadeem, who is in
Grade 9 at Vaughan Secondary School, takes his responsibility
seriously so when his mother suggested he skip a fast when he
had three matches to play, he refused.
"It's tough.
I get tired easier and very thirsty but my grandma told me that
the purpose and intention of fasting is to follow your normal
everyday routine and also to feel hunger and thirst so we know
how people without food and drink feel.
"So I fast,
go to play, break my fast in between with water, juice or fruit
and then come home and eat a proper meal when I'm done. I like
it."
"Food isn't
a priority for my kids," complains Barbara, who must chase
after them to ensure they eat something nourishing after a day
of fasting.
"However,
fasting offers them a strict spiritual regimen while sports
gives them a stringent discipline (for) their body, so it's a
well-rounded lifestyle that is obviously good for them because
they continue to pray hard and play hard."
Barbara explains
"when Sofia and Nadeem started keeping their Ramadan fasts
four years ago, their grandmother, who lives with us, thought
that they're young kids for whom fasting was not yet obligatory,
so they must be snacking and drinking water at school or during
the day.
"Then one
day, about two Ramadans ago, Sofia brought home two chocolate
nd kept them in front of her plate at the time of breaking the
fast. When her grandma asked why she hadn't eaten them, Sofia
said 'they were given to us in school and I'm fasting so I saved
them for after I break my fast.'
"Since then,
our respect for the kids has grown. We appreciate their
commitment to the faith."
Sofia encourages
her Muslim friends to share her commitment
"There are
only a few students who fast in my school," she says,
"and sometimes when they eat or drink by mistake, I remind
them that they're fasting."
Barbara has
actively helped Sofia and Nadeem practise the tenets of Islam by
cutting and pasting graphics and English words on a book so the
kids could learn how to perform their regular prayers step by
step. Her prayer book has become quite popular with other kids
as well because it's easy to follow and has an English
translation of the prayers.
Barbara, a
42-year old corporate sales representative from Montreal, was
not born into the Islamic faith. She embraced Islam in 1981
after reading and studying a French translation of the Qur'an.
She recalls her
first Ramadan: "The days were much longer and the fasts
lasted about 18 hours, so it was difficult. I was familiar with
the idea of fasting since I come from a Catholic family and we
fasted during Lent, but the Muslim fast is the most stringent
and needs more discipline.
"It was a
great spiritual and physical cleansing and I realized for the
first time how people without food and water feel."
'I realized for
the first time how people without bread and water feel'Barbara
was supported and encouraged by her husband, Tariq, whom she
married in 1982 at Toronto's Bayview Mosque. Tariq works in real
estate but his first love is singing.
"I helped
Barbara not only in understanding and accepting Islam but also
in learning Urdu- my native tongue from Pakistan- which she now
speaks fluently and also sings with me."
Tariq, 46, gives
Barbara credit for helping the children understand and practise
Islam.
"We never
wanted any conflict for the kids so I'm overwhelmed when I see
Sofia and Nadeem fasting seriously. My mother and Barbara have
both been great role models for them, but the kids show amazing
willpower specially in pursuing their hobbies while observing a
pillar of their faith."
So how does the
Mumtaz family deal with Christmas, given that Barbara's entire
family celebrates this festival?
"Normally in
the holiday season, we visit my family in Montreal every
alternate year because Christmas day is also Tariq's mum's
birthday so we take turns being at home one year and in Montreal
the other," says Barbara.
"This year
is a year to remain here, but when we are in Montreal we
participate in everything except praying in church. I feel that
even though I've converted to Islam, I can't forget my past
traditions.
"The change
has been easy for me because the core values are the same and my
family is supportive of my new faith."
Nadeem and Sofia
love having the best of both worlds. "On Christmas when we
go to our grandfather's house in Montreal, we exchange gifts and
on Eid we get money," Nadeem says.
"Even if we
are fasting, like last year, we still go and celebrate with
them, and eat all the goodies at night," Sofia adds.
"Food is not so important, but it's nice to be there."
Tariq heartily
approves of the family's participation in Christmas
celebrations. "It helps us learn tolerance, which is an
important lesson anytime, but especially during Ramadan because
the message is one of charity, tolerance, self-control and
respect for others.
"Barbara has
been such an icon of strength and support for our family, that
we like sharing her traditions. I think it will make us all
better human beings and more secure in our own faith, when we
learn to share."
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