Ramadan Draws Muslims to Islamic Center

The holiest days of the year, and the surge in attendance they incite, is a phenomenon that is familiar to religious leaders of many theological stripes.

The arrival of Ramadan this week has brought Muslims from all over southern Marin to the for the center’s usual five-times-daily prayers, bringing people in and out of the center on Shell Rd. in the Alto neighborhood throughout the day.

“We see tremendous increase in attendance in Mill Valley during Ramadan,” said Ibrahim Nana, one of the center’s leaders. The local community has its roots in the town of Rander in the Gujarat state of India.

Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar in which Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual relations between dawn and sunset. That in itself presents a challenge, as sunset right now is around 4:30 a.m. and sunset if about 8:20 p.m. For the final prayer session of the day, many attendees bring food to share in a small meal that precedes larger family meals at home to break the fast. (For more about those break-the-fast meals for local Muslims, .)

But Nana noted that while the physical component is a significant one, Ramadan is a time for Muslims to boost their spiritual connection to Islam.

“This is a way to get closer to Allah,” he said. “One should try and read more of the Koran, do more charity and good deeds and try to stay away from bad things. It is a month of reflection and see how one can change his life and get closer to god.”

Much like Christmas for Christianity and the High Holidays for Judaism, that heightened spiritual focus brings in people who might not be in the habit of attending services regularly.

Wednesday’s midday prayer at the Islamic Center this week drew more than four dozen people, far more than typical for a weekday prayer, according to Nana.

And because the Islamic year is based on the lunar calendar, advancing the dates of Ramadan by about 11 days each year, it occurs in the midst of summer vacation this year, beginning Aug. 1.

“This year it’s good that it’s summer vacation for many of the youngsters because they are able to participate more than normal,” Nana said.

Several men brought their young sons to Wednesday’s midday afternoon prayer, a short sequence in which attendees prayed individually for a few minutes before praying as a large group for about 10 minutes.

During Ramadan, an extra set of prayers is added to the fifth prayer of the day, often led by a member of the community who has memorized the Koran.

Southern Marin has long been home to a strong community of Muslims, and as evidence Nana pointed to the recent HBO documentary, Koran By Heart, which tells the story of three 10-year-olds -- two boys and one girl -- as they travel to a competition in which they must recite entire verses from Islam’s 600-page holy book from memory.

“We happen to have five or six brothers who know the whole Koran by heart,” he said.

The final prayer of the day has been drawing nearly 80 people, and every prayer of the day is bringing in at least double the usual turnout, Nana said.

“It seems like we keep seeing more and more every year,” he said.

In many parts of the country, particularly in places that have seen vaunted opposition for the construction or expansion of Islamic places of worship, such a surge in attendance might draw vocal opposition.

That hasn’t been the case in the Alto neighborhood.

“They’re very friendly and helpful people in every way they can be,” said Louis Cornish, who lives next door to the center. “As far as I know, everybody around here has no issue with them whatsoever.”

Nana agreed.

“Our neighbors know us well enough - we’ve been here for 20 years now,” he said. “They know to expect a little more traffic and a month of a little more noise. But we have good neighbors and understanding neighbors.”

Nana invited anyone to come and observe the prayers during Ramadan or at any other time during the year.  

“It’s that fear of the unknown that we’re always open to help address,” he said. “”We’re fortunate here in Marin and we feel absolutely no animosity.”

With one rather comical exception, that is.

“There’s one idiot who calls every so often and leaves a really nasty message,” Nana said. “We save the messages because everyone gets a kick out of listening to this guy. When we don’t hear from him for a while, we wonder if he’s ok or not.”

The 411: The Islamic Center of Mill Valley hosts prayers five times a day. For info and prayer times, .