Thursday night marked the beginning of Ramadan. During this period, the Islamic community participates in several rituals and prayers, honoring its culture, language and religion.

“We call it the month of Allah, Almighty God. Regarding our traditions, all the holy books were revealed in this month,” said Dr. Imdad Imam, the president of the Al-Fatemah Islamic Center. “Torah was revealed in this month. The Bible was revealed in this month. Quran was revealed in this month.”

Many at the mosque said that Ramadan, to them, also means self-discipline, unity and gratitude, and they encourage people to look within and work on themselves, while also giving back to those in need.

“People tend to think that fasting is just about the hunger and how to control the hunger and to have patience and to not be angry,” said youth member Saira Shirazi. “But it's almost how we as a community act, in spite of that hunger and how we don't let that hunger control us, but we actually try to control that hunger. And I feel like it's also important to recognize that just because someone may not believe something that someone else believes in, it's important to still respect that.”