Memon Organization of North America (MONA) Welcomes Ramadan in Irvine

Online, August 10, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The banners' messages: Peace, Charity, Community and Love are understood and cherished by all people. Members of MONA hope that the banners being displayed on Roosevelt Ave enlighten the community about the true meaning of Islam and Ramadan. "We are not the people you see on television, we are your neighbors and care for the community we live in," explained Chairman Razzak Bangloria. "Irvine is a great community and it is our hope to help keep it that way."
The group's mission is to act as the local chapter to promote, develop and support non-profit and charitable organizations in order to foster better community relations between all religious, social, ethnic and national groups for the good of society as a whole. MONA is also opening a medical Clinic in Orange County for the poor and needy under the supervision of its President Mohammad Ashraf Kamdar.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sexual activities from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of God and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan, Muslims try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. As compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards about ten days each year as it is a moving holiday depending on the moon. Ramadan was the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
The name "Ramadan" had been the name of the ninth month in Arabian culture long before the arrival of Islam. In the Qu'ran, God proclaims that "fasting has been written down (as obligatory) upon you, as it was upon those before you". According to the earliest narrations of the Islamic prophet, this refers to the Jewish practice of fasting on Yom Kippur and Lent in Christianity.
For more information, please visit www.monaconnect.com or come see us at the Irvine Global Village Festival on October 2, 2010.