Arianna El Haloui studies the Quran as part of her Muslim routine. She says that this is her fourth year celebrating Ramadan in the city.
“I feel more welcomed in a religion where sometimes I can feel alone being the only Mexican among many,” El Haloui said.
In 2020, after taking religion classes at NYU, El-hel-wee, originally from Sacramento, reverted to the Muslim religion. He says he found a community of Muslim Latinos.
“It was full of Puerto Rican Muslims, Dominicans, Mexicans.”
About 1.8 billion people are Muslims in the world. Of those, about 800,000 live in New York City.
Like Ali Medina who is Puerto Rican. He says that he did not find God in his home and began studying the Muslim religion in 2018.
“The story helped me at least see myself and confirm that at least a person like me, a Latino, a Caribbean can be Muslim and I can maintain my culture and my religion at the same time,” Medina said.
__ES_BK_Latino_Muslims_CG_129351694_2309.jpeg)
Medina.
It’s what keeps them together during Ramadan, a holy month of fasting when Muslims cannot eat or drink from dawn to dusk. Additionally, fasting from recreational activities such as listening to music.
“It allows you to have more time to reflect on your thoughts and on religion, your relationship with God,” El Haloui explained.
Every afternoon, El Haloui breaks her fast with her husband with dates and water. Although she enjoys a meal after a 14-hour fast, she says Ramadan is different this year because of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“It is impossible to celebrate and all our energy, fasting, prayers go towards Gaza supporting them in the midst of the war,” said El Haloui.
Ramadan culminates with Eid-al-Fiter or the festival of breaking the fast. It is the holiest day on the calendar for Muslims. This year it is April 9.
We invite you to visit us on the new NY1 Noticias channel on WhatsApp. There you will find the most relevant news about what is happening in New York, as well as other coverage about the rest of the country, Latin America and the world. click in this link to access the channel. We thank you in advance if you become one of our followers and express your reaction to what we publish with an emoji.
