Muslims' month of fasting also means fundraising

Each year, in the weeks before Ramadan, Michaela Corning gets an uptick in the number of invitations to fundraisers for this mosque or that school.

This year, she's received a veritable flurry.

"There are so many different functions going on, especially during Ramadan," said Seattle resident Corning, 35, who works at a research company and also owns a clothing company for Muslim women. "I think part of it is a sign that people in the community are becoming more and more active."

The holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week, is a prime fundraising time for many Islamic organizations.

Many Muslims believe that if they give during Ramadan, their heavenly rewards from God will be multiplied.

In the past several years, it was not unusual for a few large local Islamic groups to hold fundraisers around Ramadan. But this year, local Muslims say, many more are doing so.

It's an indication of the growth both in the numbers of local Muslims and in the new organizations and buildings they're creating (including plans for new mosques in Shoreline, Sammamish and Redmond), as well as a sign of the community's maturity.

"There are more organizations that have started now that are at a level that can hold banquets," said S. Arsalan Bukhari, executive director of the state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Rising numbers

By many accounts, the number of Muslims in the Puget Sound area has grown tremendously. While estimates vary widely and are hard to verify, a figure frequently cited in the past has been 40,000 to 50,000. Now some community members place the number as high as 100,000.

During Ramadan, which commemorates the seventh-century revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims abstain from food, drink and sensual pleasures from sunrise to sunset to focus on their relationship with God and on how it feels to be poor, hungry or sick. They also are expected to give to charities.

"The willingness to give is a lot more during Ramadan," said Kabir Jeddy, treasurer of the Redmond-based Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS). "People are more inspired from a religious standpoint."

MAPS, which was established in 2006, has always held its biggest fundraiser of the year during Ramadan.

One big appeal?

Lately, as more organizations start holding fundraisers around the same time, there's been some conversation about consolidating them, Jeddy said.

"Ideally, you'd like to have just one giant fundraiser to save on the cost of each one and help people schedule their days so they only have to attend one," he said.

Indeed, though each mosque, school and organization caters to somewhat different audiences, there is some overlap — and therefore some competition for donors' funds.

"That's why we tried to really get ours in at the beginning of Ramadan," said Ann El-Moslimany, principal of the Islamic School of Seattle.

For the first time in its 31-year history, the school is holding its fundraising banquet during Ramadan. Also for the first time, it's being held at a Bellevue hotel — the better to reach more affluent Eastside Muslims.

Scheduling challenges

But there also are drawbacks to holding fundraisers during Ramadan, community members said.

It's a busy time, when many Muslims prefer to spend their evenings at their mosques in special prayers.

And because the breaking of the fast can't occur until after sundown, and then night prayers typically begin two hours after sundown, that can limit the length of any evening program.

That's why CAIR-WA chose to hold its banquet just before Ramadan, rather than during. It wanted to have a reception with food before sundown, and to have enough time for a longer program.

Also, leaders wanted to avoid holding a banquet at the end of Ramadan because "we knew there would be a lot of donor fatigue," said Bukhari, the executive director.

But just because the fundraiser was held before Ramadan didn't mean donors couldn't reap the rewards of giving during the holy month.

Organizers allowed people to pledge during the banquet, and then fulfill the pledge a week later — during Ramadan.

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com