By Wendy Wheeler

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Hazeem Pudhaipura, his lovely wife Nina, and their three children, Hiba, Hana and Danial. Thanks to Mansoor Shams and Vets for American Ideals’ joint #29/29 Ramadan Initiative, I got out of my comfort zone and not only learned a bit about my Muslim neighbors, but also had a downright enjoyable evening with new friends. 

As an excited participant in one of the 29 nightly Iftars and pre-dawn Suhurs making up the project, I left my home south of Atlanta early, hoping to avoid the notorious traffic of the city. Happily, despite a few of the average traffic jams, I got to the family’s home with plenty of time to get to know them before the night kicked off.

This first meeting was one of the coolest aspects of the night and it made me realize the truly multi-cultural nature of the Muslim faith. As we sat in the kitchen and exchanged stories, I learned that Hazeem and Nina were from “God’s Own Country,” otherwise known as Kerala, a tropical state on the western coast of India. (Side note… I must visit one day!) Later, when we arrived at their mosque for evening prayer, I learned that the Ahmaddiya Muslim tradition that the family practices has a strong following in the Pakistani community and a large majority of their congregation are of Pakistani descent.  Before the fast was broken at the service, the Imam read passages from the Quran in Arabic and discussed them in both Urdu and English. During the Iftar dinner (which was so delicious) I met the Imam’s wife and discovered that she and her family were of Indonesian descent. 

And this is what I truly love about America. People from all over the world connect here through our core values of religious freedom and (aspirational) tolerance. I learned that the Admaddiya faith is a fairly new Islamic movement that some label heretical. This notion was something I certainly identified with, growing up Catholic in South Alabama, Southern Baptists and other’s viewed me and others of my faith in the same light. However, I was saddened to learn that Admaddiya followers are persecuted in other countries; which is a shame because I found the community to be very warm and welcoming.

Earlier, Hazeem explained to me that Ramadan was one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith and that during this period, much emphasis is placed on serving the poor and underprivileged. I admire the self-discipline and commitment I observed in the Muslim community during this time of improving one’s sense of steadfastness, forbearance, and gratitude. Hazeem told me that the Ahmaddiya Muslims believe in Jihad with the pen, rather than with the sword, to spread the “good news,” if you will, in their quest to unite all of humanity under the Islamic umbrella.

After the Iftar dinner were prayers. I must say that this was truly a wonderful experience; for me, it was very meditative and left me peaceful. After saying our goodbyes at the mosque for the night, the Pudhaipura family and I headed back to their house.

Since it was Friday night, we all stopped and ate some ice cream, (Thank you, Hazeem!) and even though we were all going to get up before the crack of dawn (4:40am!), Hiba, Hana, and Danial challenged me to a game of Apples to Apples. I had a great time talking with Nina and ultimately dominating the kids with my superior Apple to Apple skills.

We all went to sleep, and in the blink of an eye, we were back up to eat and say morning prayers. Nina moved furiously around the kitchen whipping up the Suhur for everyone (Thank you, Nina!), Hazeem set up the prayer rug in the living room, and I watched a new cycle of very beautiful tradition unfold.

Wendy Wheeler is a U.S. Army Veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2008–2009 and Afghanistan in 2010–2011. She currently serves in the U.S. Army Reserves.