Ramadan, a time for thanksgiving

SOUL FOOD

In this column on Nov. 7, I wrote about the Angels winning the

World Series. I wrote about my doubts that God had tipped the

playoffs in the Angels’ favor, that God had heard the fervent prayers

of their fans and had answered them with the win.

And I wrote about a story a friend had sent to me in an e-mail a

couple weeks before the World Series. To make a short story shorter,

my friend sent me a story, “unofficial evidence,” she said, that our

country is, indeed, a Christian nation.

The story was an account of how the names of all four teams trying

to get to the World Series were associated, in some way, with

Christian culture. Take the Anaheim Angels for instance. The Angels

part seems obvious. Though, when I think of some angels, like, say,

Lucifer, I don’t know. As for Anaheim, the story said the city is

named after Saint Ann.

When I wrote the column, I thought I might hear from some Angels

fans.

Instead, I heard about Anaheim. The first, but not the last,

e-mail I got about the name was signed “from an Orange County

native.”

“I am sure you have had many people e-mail you about your friend’s

e-mail to you saying that Anaheim was named after Saint Ann. Anaheim

is a German name and it means ‘Home By The River’,” wrote the Orange

County native. And so did several other readers. For the record,

that’s very close.

I looked it up on the city of Anaheim Web site.

“Anaheim began in 1857 as a colony of German farmers and

vintners,” it reads. “The city’s name is a composition of ‘Ana’ from

the nearby Santa Ana River and ‘Heim,’ German for home. Those early

pioneers considered this location their ‘home by the river’.”

And that’s pretty much all I heard about that column until a

couple of days ago, when an Angels’ fan and friend of mine said,

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you if you heard about writing that

column about the World Series on the day after Ramadan started?”

No. I didn’t. No one said a thing. But I wish someone had. I had

intended, at the start or nearer the middle of Ramadan, near

Thanksgiving, to tell you about Turkan and Burak Aksoylu’s first

American Thanksgiving experience. I’m not sure why I didn’t.

I met Turkan and Burak during Ramadan last year when Turkan was

teaching a class about Islam, which I attended at the Tolerance

Foundation here in Huntington Beach. She was a gracious and patient

teacher.

In the days after the class, Turkan sent me an essay she called

“Sept. 11, Ramadan and Thanksgiving.”

Turkan, an Australian-born Muslim, lived in Turkey for 13 years.

Her husband, Burak, who was born in Turkey, is now a postdoctoral

scholar at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, where

they live.

Last year, Ramadan began on Nov. 16, barely more than two months

after the devastating events of Sept. 11, and only a week before

Thanksgiving. In a gesture of goodwill, Burak asked the institute to

help him find a family to celebrate Thanksgiving with.

Husband and wife David and Jacky called with an invitation. Turkan

made a tray of baklava to add to the traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Jacky and David deferred dinner until after sunset since Turkan and

Burak were still fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan.

“Jacky was surprised to hear that we were not unfamiliar with the

concept of Thanksgiving,” Turkan wrote. “As Muslims, we get together

with our friends and family for dinner in Ramadan. After a day of

fasting, dinner becomes a special occasion. We give our thanks to the

Lord for his blessings and enjoin in communal prayer.”

That evening, Turkan said, turned feelings of loss and loneliness

to warmth and hope. This year, the 30-day Ramadan fast ended last

week. Its end coincided with the Feast of St. Nicholas and last day

of Hanukkah.

It’s still a debate for some whether ours is a nation under God.

Meanwhile, thank God, it is still a nation that allows us the freedom

of religion.

Ramadan blessings! Happy St. Nicholas Day! Happy Hanukkah!

* MICHELE MARR is a freelance writer from Huntington Beach. She

can be reached at michele@soulfoodfiles.com.