Ramadan nights bring prayer, reflection and community to Lakemba

SYDNEY, Australia (MNTV) —  For many Muslims, Ramadan is a month of sacrifice and reflection.

But for Sydney hospital worker Ray Khan, the most anticipated moment comes after sunset, when worshippers gather for taraweeh — nightly prayers that transform quiet streets into places of devotion and community, reports The Canberra Times. 

After breaking his fast with a single date followed by small sips of water and a hearty meal, Ray Khan sits kerbside waiting for special Ramadan prayers to begin. It’s his most cherished time of the gruelling holy month. 

On a humid Sydney night, Khan joined hundreds of worshippers for an open-air expression of his faith in Lakemba, a suburb lambasted in recent weeks by far-right politician Pauline Hanson as unsafe.

“This is the time we wait for, for the entire year,” the 35-year-old hospital worker told AAP.

“The first 10 days, you fight the hunger, you fight the tiredness, and now it’s becoming a routine … you don’t have impatience, you look forward to it, and before you know it, Ramadan is gone and you’ll miss it.”

He meditated on the meaning of the Arabic word taraweeh as a spiritual pause from life’s hustle and bustle. “For someone my age, I’m a millennial, you’re chasing the dream, getting a house and you’re overworking, you’re sacrificing your time with your family … so this is the time to hit the reset button.” 

There are about one million Muslims throughout Australia, according to the latest census. The majority lives in Sydney but strong regional centers such as Shepparton in Victoria, Mareeba in Queensland and Katanning in Western Australia highlight the community’s diversity and different waves of migration, with many Indigenous converts. 

Ramadan this year has coincided with a heady time of geopolitical tensions, with instability in the Middle East as the United States and Israel attack Iran and retaliatory strikes hit multiple countries including Saudi Arabia. 

Fresh from performing umrah (pilgrimage) in Makkah in western Saudi Arabia with his son, 50-year-old Omid Irani was among more than 200 passengers who landed in Sydney on the first flight from Dubai to Australia since the war closed airspace in the Middle East.

The pilgrimage to Makkah can be performed any time of year but for Irani, who is of Iranian background, it felt surreal to be in Saudi Arabia as the war began.

He said a spirit of togetherness was on full display as millions of worshippers circled the Kaaba. 

“In the haram (sacred mosque of Makkah), all differences melt away and we’re all one,” he said minutes after clearing customs at Sydney airport, where his worried sister greeted him.

Back in Lakemba, tens of thousands of revellers and foodies — Muslims and non-Muslims — visited the popular night markets replete with dozens of food stalls and a festive atmosphere, sampling camel burgers and sugar cane juice.

For three young friends wearing veils — Nadia, Nora and Shihad — volunteering to make the open-air prayers a success is a way to connect with their faith. “Nowhere else in the year can you pray like this, so when I come, I feel closer to God and I feel more elevated spiritually,” 18-year-old university student Nora said. 

Her friend Shihad said Ramadan was a test of endurance that culminated in strengthening faith through acts of service. “You’re thirsty, you’re hungry, you’re hot while going to work, going to uni, and you do have moments where you lose your patience, but then you also remember how others overseas are in worse situations and are also fasting,” she said.

“This month is all about being grateful.”