Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Giving Ramadan a Drumroll in Brooklyn at 4 A.M. by Kirk Semple (NYT)

A few hours before dawn, when most New Yorkers are fast asleep, a middle-aged man rolls out of bed in Brooklyn, dons a billowy red outfit and matching turban, climbs into his Lincoln Town Car, drives 15 minutes, pulls out a big drum and — there on the sidewalk of a residential neighborhood — starts to play.

The man, Mohammad Boota, is a Ramadan drummer. Every morning during the holy month, which ends on Sept. 21, drummers stroll the streets of Muslim communities around the world, waking worshipers so they can eat a meal before the day’s fasting begins.


Cute, though I'm sure extremely annoying to, you know, the other 99% of the US that doesn't participate in Ramadan.

I still remember the drummers waking everyone up to eat/stop eating in Pakistan.

Uncle's got quite a few amusing quotes, though;

“Everywhere they complain,” he said. “People go, like, ‘What the hell? What you doing, man?’ They never know it’s Ramadan.”


Mr. Boota wants to be a good American, and a good Muslim. “I don’t want to bother other communities’ people,” he said. “Just the Pakistani people.”


read the whole thing here

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