The Ulu Mosque in the city of Patterson hosts 400 guests and the Karaçay Türkleri Mosque hosts 150, while in the city of Clifton the Yeni Dünya Mosque has 150 visitors every night for iftar. Believers from other countries are welcome at these iftar tables, not just Turks.
The guests say these iftar events bond the Turks of the US and pave the way for the new generation in the community to learn about their native cultures. Cem Karadeniz, who moved to the US in 1989, told the Anatolia news agency they spend Ramadan with other Muslims and that these moments they spend together are precious. “It is very important for our families to come together and experience the atmosphere [of sharing]. We are away from Turkey, which we long for. That is the only thing missing. But I believe we have a good Ramadan here,” he said.
Born and raised in the US, Elif Kasaoğlu said she feels like she is in Turkey during Ramadan. Selman Minhaz, the child of a Turkish mother and a Pakistani father, shared the happiness of the crowd, saying they are like a big family.
Sixty-six-year-old Kezban Sözer, who can cook dinner for as many as 700 guests at the Ulu Mosque, is called “Kezban Ana” (Mother Kezban) by everybody in the mosque where she has cooked for the past 15 Ramadans. One of the participants, Engin Kocabaş, said iftars are better with a crowd. “That’s why we choose to come here. The atmosphere is no different than that in Turkey.”
Karaçay Türkleri Mosque Foundation head Kadir Taşkın said his foundation works to create the best Ramadan atmosphere so that Turks living in the city feel at home. “Rather than having food, we are happy to have the Turkish community together here,” he said.
Washington also celebrates Ramadan with enthusiasm. Bilal Ankaya is an imam of a mosque managed by the Virginia-based Institute of Islamic and Turkish Studies (IITS). After studying at Selçuk University’s faculty of theology in Konya, Ankaya got his master’s degree at an American university. Residing in Washington for the past 13 years, Ankaya told the Aksiyon weekly that he used to have nobody to share iftar with when he first arrived in the US but is never alone at iftar now.
“Ramadan in a foreign place has its beauties. It is not the same thing to fast in a place where everybody fasts as in a place where nobody fasts. Deep inside you feel a bond with the Creator that is hard to describe.
The mosque where Ankaya serves as an imam is not like the glorious mosques of Turkey. It is a place to pray among the workplaces of the city of Fairfax in the Washington metropolitan area. “Yes, our mosque is small, but our hopes are big. With the opening of the mosque, Turks from Turkey and the Turkic republics started to bond quickly and warmly. We should mention other Muslims in this group, including Afghans, Pakistanis and Egyptians. For example, it is possible to see an African reciting azan (call to prayer) and an Indonesian distributing food,” he said.
Ankaya’s institute has three types of services: for Muslims in general, for Turks and for Americans. He said Americans do not have many trustworthy sources for exploring Islam and that the institution is there to provide the most rational and sensible information. “Although 9/11 seemed to increase Islamophobia, it also boosted interest in the religion,” he said.
While noting that people in the US are religious, Ankaya said IITS has developed relationships with locals and churches and that they meet on various occasions at IITS or in churches. He said every time he delivers a seminar in a church he is asked many questions. The imam said the questions are mostly about jihad and women’s rights in Islam. “I tell them jihad is about defense and that the real jihad takes place in one’s inner soul.”
