密歇根新闻广播 疫情期间的清真寺斋月

 

For the first time in 25 years, Imam Abdul Latif Azom has closed the doors to the Islamic Center of North Detroit, or Masjid Al-Falah. It’s Ramadan, the month of fasting from dawn until dusk. Masjid means mosque¹.

“The greatest loss [to] our congregation is we can't go to the mosque,” said Azom.

Since March 23, when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a stay-at-home order, Muslims in Michigan have dramatically changed the way they worship. And the need to socially distance has had an especially dramatic effect during Ramadan.

“Masjid Falah is a shelter,” said Azom. “Anything happen with community, people, they ask us. They come to us.”

Masjid Al-Falah was founded in 1989. It’s sprawled² over a block in Detroit’s Banglatown neighborhood.

During Ramadan, it feeds 300 families each week with Muslim Family Services. But it’s struggled to offer the kind of robust³ online programming other mosques⁴ have during the pandemic.

Still, Azom is trying. In March, he used the mosque’s robocall system to warn people to stay home.

“Respected community members,” Azom’s recorded voice told his congregation, “may Allah protect you all from this epidemic⁵.”

Azom says he just can’t keep up with a daily livestream. He posts on Facebook occasionally. He encourages worshippers to find their own ways to pray at home. That’s what we’ve been doing at my house. My son recites the adhan, the call to prayer, in our living room. We pray together as a family. We’ve decorated the house with glittery lights and handcrafted paper chains to embrace the spirit of Ramadan at home.

But for many Muslims, the separation, especially during Ramadan, is hard.

“The feelings that you get when you're in Ramadan, which is really hard to describe,” said 23-year-old Bushra Azom, one of Imam Azom’s daughters. “But it's just like something that just gets enhanced when you're with your fellow Muslims in the community, kind of, like, standing⁶ together in worship, and without that, I do feel like there's just going to be, like, an element of sadness.”

Bushra’s full of energy. She’s a fourth year medical student at Wayne State. And she really misses breaking fast with friends.

“Breaking bread with somebody, you know, people talk about it for ages. Like, that's just a very amazing feeling. So it does, you know, kind of suck that we're not able to have that experience with our friends.”

A few miles north, in Warren, is the Islamic Organization of North America, or IONA, where Steve Mustapha Elturk is the imam. He says the mosque caters⁷ to a diverse audience.

“One morning, praying Fajr, the dawn prayer, I counted 11 different nationalities of the 13 congregants that were present.”

Since social distancing became the norm, IONA has ramped⁸ up its programming on YouTube, Zoom⁹, Facebook, Instagram, and even WhatsApp.

IONA has always been pretty tech-savvy.

Laila Prescott is one of the “book ladies” at IONA’s Mommy & Me program, a playgroup for moms and kids under five. Since the pandemic, she’s been sharing stories on the group’s WhatsApp thread.

Prescott converted to Islam in 2005. As a new Muslim, she went to the mosque every day during Ramadan. It was her way to learn the customs and practices of Islam.

“Alhamdulillah, the children and I always watch like children's Islamic YouTube videos together, maybe for 10-15 minutes every day. But I don't really want them stuck in front of a screen all day long.”

As Ramadan ends, both mosques must prepare for Eid Al-Fitr services...on Saturday. While IONA is planning a Zoom service, Masjid Al-Falah is holding out, hoping that an in-person gathering¹⁰ will somehow be possible.

This story was produced in collaboration¹¹ with Feet in 2 Worlds, a project that brings the work of immigrant journalists to public radio.

Nargis Rahman is a Bangladeshi-American Muslim writer and a mother of three. She is passionate¹² about community journalism¹³ in the Greater Detroit area and about giving American Muslims and people of color a voice in the media. A former journalism fellow for Feet in 2 Worlds/WDET 101.9 FM, her work has appeared in Haute Hijab, Eater, Detroiter Magazine, The Muslim Observer and others.

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

2 sprawled   

v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
• He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。

3 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

4 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 caters   

提供饮食及服务( cater的第三人称单数 )； 满足需要，适合

参考例句：

• That shop caters exclusively to the weaker sex. 那家商店专供妇女需要的商品。
• The boutique caters for a rather select clientele. 这家精品店为特定的顾客群服务。

8 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

9 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

12 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

13 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。