Ramadan & UK Muslims
As the evening progressed and the conversations delved into detail, a few British Muslim professionals were asked to comment on a wider more holistic subject. Ramadan, what their organizations are doing and what the month means to them as individuals.
“My network has 400 members across the UK. For Ramadan, we are focusing on a fast challenge where we are inviting our non-Muslim members to fast on the 24th of May. We did that last year as well. There were a lot of people interested in why we fast and the impact on us.
“For my personal Ramadan, I love Ramadan. It’s the time where I feel I am closest to Allah. Spiritually, mentally and physically. My favorite time of the day is actually iftar. Not because I am just about to have food, but mainly because at that time I feel I am closest to Allah, I speak to Allah, I call out to Allah. And I ask Allah for a lot of things. My body is weak at the time of iftar, but my soul is at its strongest.”
Robbina Qureshi, Co-Chair EY Muslim Network
“We’ll be doing some more talks during Ramadan, to give more information and guidance, not just for our brothers and sisters in faith, but for those outside of our communities as well.
“Ramadan is a time for family and spirituality. It’s a time when everyone comes together. It’s a time of year that I absolutely love, just because of the feeling of togetherness that you get from our community. It is a time when you can forget all of your worldly, material things. It’s about your actions, your prayers, breaking the fast together. It really epitomizes what our faith is all about.
“The biggest challenge for me is often getting up for suhoor and getting to work. If I’m quite honest I do miss my suhoor sometimes, and I’ll sleep through. Just trying to function without coffee, that’ll be the challenge.
Sarah Ferozedean, Co-Chair EY Muslim Network
Sarah Ferozedean, Co-Chair EY Muslim Network
“We have a network of over 500 people across the UK. We do various events, around charity, networking, and also teaching people about our faith, including non-Muslims. During Ramadan we will have a daily communication, a faith reminder going out to our members. We have an ambitious target of raising £12,000 for Orphans in need. And we’ll wrap it off with a lovely big `Eid event.
“Ramadan is a time for family, charity and giving to those who are in need. Fasting for me is a time to reconnect with God. To re-energize for the year. For me, it is about family and reconnecting with people I haven’t seen during the year. I also start focusing spiritually.”
Shalah Akhtar, Head of PwC Muslim Network
“Deloitte Muslim Network has a variety of events over Ramadan. We have educational programs. We have fortnightly classes. We have a Qur’an club where you can increase your recitation, as well as a number of charitable activities, in this case, partnering with NZF (National Zakat Foundation).
“For me, as I enter Ramadan, it is an opportunity to reflect on the past year. I think about last Ramadan and I think about whether I have made the most of my time over the past year. That’s what Ramadan means to me. It is a period of reflection.”
Sawood Pearce, Head of Deloitte Muslim Network
Sawood Pearce, Head of Deloitte Muslim Network
British Muslim entrepreneur, Shahzad Younas, sat down for a more in-depth conversation:
“Ramadan is a month that I actually look forward to a lot, and I mean that in a very genuine way. Because for the 11 other months of the year, I know that I get wrapped up in a million other things. Obviously, I do my five prayers but I have to admit that it becomes a routine and I don’t give due thought to it. Ramadan is a month where I try and focus on what it is I’m doing, trying to do the extra mile, trying to do my sunnah prayers. Just doing a little bit extra. It’s a great month where I try to do more, and hopefully, keep up the good habit; at the very least for a few months afterward.
“I really see the wisdom behind that month, every year, more and more. And how it is relevant to us as Muslims in this modern world where we have a million and one distractions. It’s a month where we pause everything else and focus on what’s actually important.”
Shahzad Younas
For the Muslim community, Younas stressed that the holy month is a chance to focus on what matters.
“I think the way forward for us. A few things were mentioned and what I actually thought about was. If you look at our parents’ generation, they, and I’m speaking very simply, but if you look at it, many of them were not that educated. They came to this country essentially as laborers, or mostly to work. They came. They set up our mosques, our institutions. Now it’s our generation, what are we going to do? Because they (our parents) have done the mosques. So how do we take it to the next level?
“For us, it is totally true that we have a lack of genuine leadership. And I mean leadership in terms for British Muslims, in terms of education, on a scholarly basis, in a business basis, doing business inshallah the right way, where it is a good example of how we should do business.
“In the charity sector we do excel, but at the same time, a lot of that money does go elsewhere (abroad). And if we actually look at what we are doing in our set up here in the UK, we do realize that we do need to spend a lot more on ourselves, in an organized way. That’s the key. In an organized way. Because Muslims, we, unfortunately, do not have a reputation for being organized. And for us, we need to do it in a disciplined way where there is more of a long-term vision in terms of what we actually want to achieve as Muslims in the UK.
“What legacy are we going to leave for this generation?”
The biggest take away from the program is that today we as professional British Muslims have built networks, but what happens next? As we enter the month of Ramadan it is fitting that we call upon God to have Mercy on us all, remove obstacles, and inspire us to that which is better; for us as individuals, as communities and as society as a whole. British Muslims are part of British society, and we must endeavor now to step up and find a positive way forward.
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