We sat patiently, awaiting the breaking of the fast. The dining tables were laden with dates and water, then rosewater milk and fruit to be served prior to the sunset prayer and Iftar dinner during the sacred month of Ramadan. It was a generous invitation from the community of Jaan'e Masjid Bellmore — to those of us neighbors in the community beyond its doors.
While the sun faded in the sky, while chilly breezes whipped around the outdoor tent erected in the parking lot for such a celebration, there was small talk among the sisters. We talked of the history of the mosque, the symbolism of the foods to be served, the garb, the speeches. Then we started to ask real questions of each other, removing judgments which, up until now. were based solely on the way we looked to one another. We talked of the work we each do beyond being mothers and wives, the number of children we raised or were raising. And, if the conversation lulled, we filled the time cooing at babies or dodging preschoolers who brought life to the festivities around us.
It had been a long while since I was a guest of a local mosque — about eleven years ago when high school students of our temple's religious school met with teens at the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury. At that event, the students were there for a structured program to discuss beliefs, answer each other's questions and witness/partake in afternoon prayer. But like this night in Bellmore, the objectives were the same: to learn, talk and understand each other to contribute to a bigger, more peaceful world.