This Friday, San Francisco’s Muslim community will come together with civic leaders at City Hall for a Community Iftar to break bread on the ninth day of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam for 2 billion Muslims worldwide.
After hearing from elected officials, the adhan (call to prayer) will summon Muslim guests to pray in community under the majestic dome and then gather around tables with friends, family and non-Muslim special guests to experience the breaking of the fast. With the rise in hate crimes and discrimination across the nation, this is a special time to share a delicious meal with our diverse community partners and showcase our beautiful Muslim community’s solidarity, contributions and impact.
Many know Ramadan as a time for fasting (yes, not even water!) and prayers. But this blessed month is also significant because it marks a time of sincere reflection, self examination and generosity. Ramadan is about spiritual growth. We fast to increase our empathy and open our hearts to the suffering of others. It is a touchstone reminding us of our many blessings, and compelling us to seek out opportunities that enable us to be of service and give back, similar to the Christian virtue of charity or the Jewish mitzvot of tzedakah. During this time, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to live in San Francisco where beauty spans the horizon and a universal love for diversity is cherished by all, witnessed on each face and seen on every street corner.
As part of our personal reflections during Ramadan, we individually assess our place in society as well as that of our larger Muslim community. This can draw awareness to how we are sometimes overlooked. Muslims, across the globe and in San Francisco, are diverse. We have deep multigenerational roots in San Francisco and we are recent immigrants too. Muslims make up a multitude of different identities and languages in the city: White, African American, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, European. We appreciate San Francisco’s diversity because it is present in our own community too, and we want to participate in the cultural landscape of this city.
An Arab American student, born and raised in the Tenderloin, became a City youth commissioner. They grew up across the street from the Salvation Army, playing basketball and air hockey with friends, and as their world got bigger it became scarier and they started looking over their shoulder: “ignorance is bliss but that is only true until there is enough understanding to make the truth feel safe,” they said. Channeling their fear, they got more involved: supporting local Yemeni Association programs and planning the 2019 Ramadan Iftar at City Hall. They currently study public policy in order to “help benefit the diverse population of the Tenderloin and San Francisco as a whole.”
We are the mirror image and reflection of what makes America beautiful. We may be more visible in certain areas, like the proud Muslims who live in the Tenderloin, but we occupy all pockets of The City. We are public servants, business owners, artists, professionals, teachers, police officers and your local grocer. We are your neighbors, co-workers and friends. We are San Francisco. We are proud San Franciscans. And, while we are growing and contributing immensely to The City’s foundation, we are often misunderstood, dismissed and neglected because as a city, we do not collect the right data about our diverse and culturally rich community.
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When a community is undercounted, they are underserved. Many minority populations know this dilemma all too well, and unfortunately the Muslim community’s experience is no exception. How can San Francisco see itself as a progressive beacon when it inadequately recognizes its own Muslim traditions, culture and residents?
This predicament is not simply a value proposition either. Because we are underrepresented, we are also under-resourced in tangible ways too: without metrics like accurate census information, or more accessibility through tools like expanded translation services, our community members often miss out on the world-class resources that define San Francisco society.
Our healthcare is impacted, we have a harder time navigating services and accessing resources like grocery vouchers, we can’t benefit from small business programs or rental assistance, and the school enrollment process is unnecessarily daunting. And when The City recognizes other holidays but not ours — that impacts us too. Creating an ethos of inclusion for all is what San Francisco is known for, and small actions — even elected officials wishing us Ramadan Mubarak publicly — mean a lot not just to the Muslim community, but to society at large, as recognition for one minority brings us one step closer to a collective recognition of all. Perhaps it seems paradoxical during Ramadan to invoke the Judeo-Christian attitude on a Muslim holiday, but we too believe there is truth in the maxim, “faith without work is dead.”
In this city that we love, we ask for it to love us back. For many of us, San Francisco has been a refuge and sanctuary from the attacks on our community occurring in other parts of the country and around the world. We call for systemic changes that would directly support our community and reaffirm San Francisco’s dedication to inclusion. As another long-time Muslim resident recently put it: “growing up a Muslim-American in the Tenderloin wasn’t always easy, however, I am glad to see San Francisco taking steps towards reaching racial and religious solidarity.”
As we reflect on our own actions during Ramadan, we know that if these changes are made for us, progress will be made for all other minorities in San Francisco too. As we convene at sundown for Iftar, we will pray for San Francisco, for all that it has blessed with and for the needs of all of our fellow San Franciscans to be fulfilled. We rekindle our faith, both in a higher power and connection to others around us, the power of the people of this city. We hope that the spirit of Ramadan — the inherent self-reflection that leads to improved character and service for others — will live on after the month ends. Let us, as a city, put actions to words, deeds to intentions, demonstrate compassion in our day-to-day, and continue to breathe new life into the inclusive vision of San Francisco we all hold so dear.
