Ramadan, A Season of Fasting, Becomes Festive As Well

At Detroit-area restaurants, business is booming between sundown and sunrise

My first awareness of Ramadan came when I was a student at Columbia University. A member of our study group hailed from Turkey, and as spring approached, we noticed that he wasn’t partaking of any snacks. He explained the holy month to us, and the ritual of fasting between sun up and down down.

We subsequently scheduled our group meetings after sunset, so he could drink and eat. When Ramadan ended, I left him some candy in his mail box, and I’ll never forget how pleased he was at my little gesture.

The Detroit area has one of the largest concentration of residents from the Middle East in the United States, many of whom are Muslims who observe Ramadan. This year, the holiday began on March 10, and will end next Tuesday.