Saudi students and families abroad are finding it difficult to adjust to celebrating Ramadan and Eid away from their home country. Ramadan without her family “feels weird”, said Nada Adnan, 26, a scholarship student in New York. “This is the second Ramadan I am spending alone, and I still can't imagine getting through the month here without my mother.” Nada said that the Muslim community in New York tries to help them enjoy Ramadan by holding Islamic lectures, and performing Taraweeh prayers. But the sheer emotion of being away from home makes it a very different experience. Nada's mother said that it has been a tradition that all her sons and daughters get together on the first day of Ramadan. “For the second year Nada's place among us is empty. We talked to her over the phone for an hour and that broke my heart and left me in tears,” said Fatimah Mohammad, Nada's mother. Muhammad Al-Shihry, 23, who studies in Tampa, Florida, said that his mother has been sending him food with relatives and friends who travel to the States. “She sent me far more than I could possibly consume during one month,” he said. But even with his mother's food, Al-Shihry finds it difficult being away from his family in Ramadan. “It's really hard spending Ramadan away from your loved ones,” he said. “You feel unity and joy when you are with them. I remember the days when I went with my father and brothers to the mosque to pray Taraweeh. It was a great feeling to be with them,” Al-Shihry said. Other students try to make up for the absence of their families by spending the time with fellow Muslims. “It's difficult for me to go back to my family during the holy month of Ramadan every year. I have to live with this fact and break my fast with my Saudi and Muslim friends who live in the same city,” said Ahmed Abdullah, a medical student in Paris. Although Abdullah prays Taraweeh every night at the mosque near his house in Paris, he misses the feeling of praying at the Holy Mosque in Makkah. “I really miss performing Umrah with my family as we do each year,” he said. “We only hope that Allah will help us to survive away from our families,” said Defaf Al-Tamimi, 27, who lives and studies in Rhode Island. “Ramadan is an emotional month and I really miss my parents.” Al-Tamimi prepares for the holy month by cooking and freezing traditional Ramadan meals so that she can invite her Muslim friends and even non-Muslim classmates to break fast every day. “I like to invite my non-Muslim friends once or twice during the holy month so that they can learn more about Islam and about the positive emotion during this time that strengthens the connection between Muslims,” she added. According to the World Fact Book, there are some 10 million Muslims in the United States. Worldwide, the number of Muslims has increased by over 235 percent in the past 50 years to nearly 1.6 billion. One in four humans in the world is a Muslim.
