Holding Fast

For the first time, joining the adults in his family, 11-year-old Samy Owaynat of Irvine fasted sunrise to sundown for the month of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest observance.

“The first two or three days it was hard, and I got real hungry, but doing it really brings you closer to God,” he said. “I learned to give my heart to the poor and to treat other people the way I want to be treated.”

Thursday morning, Owaynat was one of thousands of Muslims who gathered at the Tustin Marine Corps Air Facility for the Eid al-Fitr, a ceremony marking Ramadan’s completion.

Families and friends--men in the front and women in the back--prayed together, kneeling and rising to an imam’s words.

During Ramadan, Muslims not only fast for about 10 hours each day, but they abstain from sex, tobacco and other sensual pleasures until sundown. Each night, many recite 1/30th of the Koran, so that by the end of Ramadan all 114 chapters have been read.

By controlling their desires, Muslims seek to intensify their faith in God and sense of compassion. The rich know hunger, and the poor receive greater charity from those seeking to earn favor by good deeds. Grudges are to be forgotten, and Muslims believe that God rewards good deeds more greatly during this time than at any other.

After the service, solemn prayers gave way to joyful hugs and greetings of “Eid Mubarak,” or “Holiday blessings to you,” and other words of goodwill.

As Elmahdi Habiballa, 30, a native of Sudan, hugged Mashal Al Mutiri, 24, a native of Saudi Arabia, he pointed out the myriad nationalities and ethnicities the religion unifies.

“This is the beauty of Islam. There’s no discrimination,” Habiballa said. “We share one God and one faith, and that’s what matters.”

Teenage girls in bright silk outfits swirled through the aisles, hugging and admiring each others’ colorful bell-bottomed girarras, skirt-bottomed langas or salwar kameezes, tunics with straight-legged pants.

Fasting while going to school, some of the girls said, was often difficult.

“At lunchtime, we just would watch the other kids eating,” Sana Siddiqui, 15, of Santa Ana said.

“But it shows you how poor people really feel because when we’re so hungry at lunch, at least we’re looking forward to food later on,” Siddiqui said, adjusting the silk veil slung over her black leather jacket. “They don’t even have that to look forward to.”

For Laily Tawakalzada, 18, several years of observing Ramadan have brought her from ignorance about Islam to complete devotion.

“I’ll tell you the truth, I used to laugh about it when I was very young, but that’s because I was raised in America and didn’t know better,” Tawakalzada said. “Then my mother started teaching me.”

With the lessons about Islam came an increased appreciation for her religion.

“I probably fasted for the first time when I was about 10 years old, but each time, as I got older, I learned more about God,” she said.

After the service, several little boys played tag or surrounded Marines who happened by, asking them military questions.

Older children who like Owaynat had fasted for the first time stood proudly with their parents after prayers ended.

Subhan Ali, 12, said he is stronger for having fasted and thinks that people who know that he and other Muslims fast during Ramadan now will respect them.

“I think that for people who are not Muslims, because of terrorists in Palestine, they may not know what we’re really like,” he said. “But when you fast, then they see you as a good person.”

As the crowd began to disperse, families prepared to go home to their first morning meal in a month and then on to a round of visits with friends.

But for those who could not wait, doughnuts and fresh potato samosas were for sale.

“During Ramadan, you feel better, you feel honest and close to God,” said Shrin Khan, 22, of Irvine, who shared breakfast with her husband, Mohammed Hossein, 32. “But uhmm, this is very good,” she said, biting into a samosa.