Fastbreaking During Ramadan - What is it about?

”It’s good to have some basic rules and rituals. They give orientation. They help focusing on community, make aware of other humans’ needs. Islam means peace, as Muslims we are committed to peace by following God and the divine rules. Fasting during Ramadan makes us aware of the fact that others have not enough to eat every day; helps us to build the personal strength to curb one’s natural human desires - for the better of all of us in this world.

Between the rules there is a lot of space for individuality, for diversity, for different interests, needs, desires. When kids want to play, adults want to pray and the elderly want to chat, they may do it in the same room at the same time - even in the praying hall of a mosque. Peace in Islam also means to be permissive, to accept that the individual next to you is different. The faith gives us the strength, the rules and rituals the orientation.

We believe a newborn human is unconditionally welcome on earth. We consider this a great gift. It is a gift that is closely linked to a major obligation: the obligation to thrive, to make something out of this gift, to accept challenges of life and to handle them well, to be good to others. We have to directly face God at the end. He will judge whether we did well enough, whether we used our initial gift for making the world a better place, a place to live responsibly and in peace.”