Ramadan in the Time of Pandemic

You can read a slightly different version of this in the San Jose Mercury News

This year’s Ramadan (April 24 to May 23) comes at perhaps the most challenging time of our lives. A killer virus is advancing like wildfire across the globe, leaving heartbreak and death in its wake. Confined to our homes, we are stressed and uncertain of the present and the future.

But hope is native to our nature. The Quran, the Islamic Book of Divine Guidance, instructs us never to give in to despair. Certainly no one despairs of God’s Mercy … (12:87)

When we become complacent and think that we can dictate our destiny, God warns us: And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes, say, “Indeed we belong to God, and indeed to Him we will return.” (2:155-156)

But God also assures us that Surely with hardship comes ease. Indeed, with hardship comes ease. (94:5-6) 

In this trying time, Ramadan reminds us to slow down, to pause and reflect on life’s big questions of meaning and purpose. So, where are you going? (81:26) asks the Quran. We must ask ourselves: Where, indeed, am I going with my life? Is it aligned with God’s expectations of me as defined by God, or am I going astray from a combination of ego, ingratitude, impatience, forgetfulness and other assorted flaws?

As we Muslims welcome Ramadan into our lives, we must remember the many in our community who have lost their jobs - cabdrivers, office assistants, caregivers, domestic help, daily wage earners, and others. They are among the more than 22 million of our jobless fellow-Americans facing a frightening future. We are traditionally most generous during Ramadan, and we pray that we can be even more generous during this Ramadan. Charity, the Quran tells us, is for the neediest, regardless of religion, particularly those who do not ask for help due to modesty or embarrassment. We must find and help them without in any way hurting their sense of dignity and self-respect

The doors of our mosques are closed, as are the doors of churches, synagogues, and temples. But thanking God for His blessings, mercy and forgiveness in the sacred days and nights of Ramadan can open windows in our hearts. Never for a moment should we forget that repentance can lead to redemption and remembrance of God to renewal. The dark shadow of life’s pain will, God Willing, be dispelled soon by the bright sunshine of life’s promises.

As it happens, today, Wednesday, April 22, 2020, is Earth Day. Fifty years ago, it dawned on us that there was no Planet B, that the Earth was the only home we had, and unless we cared for her, we were doomed. The forced isolation of the coronavirus has done one good thing: with little pollution defiling Mother Earth, the sky looks clearer and the vegetation pristine. Covid-19 pandemic has taught that we are not really the masters of the universe that we think we are. We know very little and our capacity is extremely limited. We have been committing crimes against nature, against animals, against all the sentient beings that we share the earth with. A single novel virus has collectively brought us to our knees. To survive, we must replace our hubris with humility. Repentance can lead to redemption and responsibility to renewal. That is also the lesson of Ramadan.

Affirming Science in Silicon Valley on Earth Day 2017

You can also read the article here.

Nobel Laureate Dr. William Moerner addressing the huge gathering
at the March for Science rally in Downtown San Jose on April 22. 

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- “I was 26 years old when my mother died of breast-cancer,” said Dr. William Moerner, a professor at Stanford and winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in chemistry ‘for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy.’ He marveled at how far the treatment of breast cancer had come, thanks to science, compared to the painful and crude treatment his mother had to endure in the ‘70s.

Moerner was one of several speakers at the “March for Science” rally in downtown San Jose at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez on Earth Day, April 22. “Today we carry supercomputers in our pockets,” he said. “We are harvesting energy from the sun without damaging nature.” Addressing climate-change deniers, he said, “Science is true whether or not you believe it,” drawing vigorous applause from his listeners who had come together to protest the policies of the ‘Denier-in-Chief’ in the White House. As to what each of us can do, the Nobel-laureate suggested that we learn how to detect fake science, how to explain the value of science to others, and to kindle our curiosity by figuring out how things work. “It’s even fun!” said Moerner, someone who should know.

About 10,000 of us – scientists, artists, students, teachers, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons and concerned citizens of every stripe and persuasion – had gathered in San Jose to affirm our faith in the importance of science in shaping our lives and in keeping our planet healthy. Similar rallies had taken place in all 50 states and in more than 500 cities around the world in seven continents.

I looked around. The posters, many made of recycled papers as befitting an Earth Day celebration, were pithy, thought-provoking, forceful, factual and witty in a nerdy way.

“The oceans are rising and so are we.”

“Evidence-based policy, not policy-based evidence, a.k.a. alternative facts.”

“No Science, Art or Humanities. No Freedom.”

“Super callow. Fragile ego. Trump you are atrocious."

“Without science you wouldn’t be taking that picture.”

“The ‘upside’ of climate change: Mara-a-Lago under water.”

“Atoms make up everything. So does he.”

The combination of outrage and passion – outrage at Trump’s destructive policies and passion for the health of the earth (“There is no planet B”) – was ineffably inspiring.

Jennifer had a ‘scientific’ message for people: “Think like a proton. Be positive.” Francesca had bedecked herself as Miss Liberty: “May we always have the liberty to seek the Truth.” Arthur used a metaphor from chemistry: “If you’re not a part of the solution, you‘re part of the precipitation.” Third-grader Eli, standing next to his approving father, was clear about his career: “I want to be president an engineer when I grow up.”
There were more women than men, debunking the myth that girls are not into science. 5-year-old Sophia, perched on her mother’s shoulder, declared: “I love science.” A woman weaved her way through the crowd: “Back off, man! I’m a scientist!” Another woman warned of the danger of learning science from politicians and not from scientists like her. Dvina, a native of San Jose currently working as a medical researcher at the University of Munich in Germany, was using her vacation time to reinforce the theme of the rally: “Science not Silence.” The proud parents of 3-month-old Lucia had pinned this sign to her stroller: “Forget princess! I want to be a rocket scientist.”

Dr. Jose Cabrera, a chemistry professor at San Jose City College elicited roars of approval when he identified the critical role community colleges play in America’s educational system and his impassioned plea to young people to consider STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields as careers. (Disclaimer: Dr. Cabrera was my mentor at City College during my tenure process as a math faculty.) “We are seeing the spread of pseudo-science in our country,” he said. “We must distinguish between science and pseudo-science and learn to see the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary.”

The math-themed signs were especially fascinating. Charles, a biophysics PhD from UCSF wanted everyone to know why the irrational number Pi matters: “3.14159 makes everything just so fine!” Crystal’s message was simple with profound implications: “I love Math.” But the most incisive message came from Dora and her 6th-grader son, Adrian who had designed posters praising the contributions of 8th-century mathematician al-Khwarizmi, considered the father of algebra. Married to an American, Dora is a Bulgarian who was praising a Muslim mathematician from olden times! Only in immigrant-rich America was this possible.

Tracy Van Houten, a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), also extolled the value of STEM, particularly for girls and minorities. “Scientists are underrepresented in our government,” she said. Of the 535 members of the Two Houses of Congress, only 11 are scientists. “That’s less than 2 percent! We have to not only protect science but also scientists,” she said. “We will prevail because Trump fears facts and facts are on our side.” Houten had to recently make a wrenching decision. “I was exploring the universe but gravity pulled me back to earth. I loved my job at the JPL,” she said, “but I felt the fierce urgency of now, this calling to rescue our country from partisan muck and science-deniers and put science back at the center of decision-making.” After Trump’s election, she quit her JPL job and is now running to represent the 34th Congressional District of California in the Congress.

The rally was billed not as a protest but as a march to affirm the value of science and to demand that the Trump administration use facts rather than polarizing and paralyzing ideologies to frame policies. We have a president who ignores evidence in favor of opinion, who has picked, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a man who denies that carbon dioxide is a primary source of global warming. Trump’s proposed budget would cut $12.6 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services, including $5.8 billion from the National Institute of Health alone, with potentially disastrous consequences for medical research. His ban on immigration threatens our scientific institutions like MIT, a significant percentage of whose faculty is foreign-born.

What will it mean for America if Trump has his way? Byron, a marine biologist, shared his perspective with me at the rally. “I don’t believe Trump will succeed. He will probably be neutered by division within his own party. His policies are likely to grind to a halt. But we can never be sure, so we have to keep up the momentum.”
The most moving moment at the rally came when I ran into 14-year-old Justin, a sophomore at the local Bellarmine College Preparatory. Justin suffers from Wilson’s disease, a rare inherited disorder caused by the mutation of a certain type of gene that leads to liver inflammation and reduced kidney function. “If it were not for drugs like syprine developed by scientists at Wilson’s Disease Association, I wouldn’t be here. I owe my life to medical science.”

Earth Day Call to Action

How to sustain the spirit of Earth Day throughout the year? This is the concern of students at a local College in San Jose, California.

Alvarado feels that Earth Day should be advertised more so people can get educated on what it is about and what kind of things can be done to help. He feels that everyday should be Earth Day. He plans to educate the people around him such as his mother, girlfriend and others about what they can do to help. He is hopeful that some of the actions we take on Earth Day will become everyday habits.

Nancy has learned from her sisters to go green everyday, not just on April 22. Her older sister is an environmentalist and her younger sister is a marine biologist. She avoids using plastic bags and unplugs home appliances like the microwave when not in use. "I have learned that little things make a big difference, so I will instill this idea in my little daughter."

Hameed has planned a family gathering to emphasize the importance of conservation in all aspect of his and his family’s lives. In the long run, he feels that children will educate their parents on how to preserve the earth’s environment.

Yvette is part of the Earth Day committee promoting awareness at O'Connor Hospital where she works. She and her group emphasize recycling and going green every day. She will be giving away reusable shopping bags and other Earth Day tokens. She has made a poster of all the things that the departments are doing, for example, saving two cases of paper for board meetings by going digital. Instead of printing graphs for meetings, she makes PowerPoint presentations. She and her colleagues use scratch paper for notes, always print double-sided and makes sure that there are recycle bins on every floor.

For Garcia, Earth Day is a reminder of how contaminated the earth has become because of all the chemicals and the pesticides and man-made pollutions. “Too many people never bother to recycle. They can begin by taking shorter showers. There are many ways to help this beautiful planet. I recycle all the time. I collect cans, bottles and paper and give them to my mom so she can sell them.”

On Earth Day, Rafael plans to do three things. First, he will email all his friends to remind them to recycle every opportunity they get. Second, he plans to buy a bicycle so that he can reduce his carbon footprint by using his car as little as possible. Third, he will pledge some money to a conservation group to help in their efforts “to save our beautiful planet.”

Sindi helps the environment by carpooling five days a week with two other people from work. This helps with gas and parking fees. She and her friends have been doing this for almost four years now and it has worked out great for all of them.

Jessica likes to think Green everyday. She knows that we are ruining our planet but that it is also up to us to save it. She talks to her son about the environment and the little things he can also do to help. She uses cloth bags, reusable drink bottles and bigger home appliances after 7 P.M. But she feels that she can do more as a mother. With her son, she picks a day to use only the bike. That way they both get exercise and get some quality time together. "We also pick a night when we don't use electricity but only candles. My son loves this because he gets to light the candles."

Josephina is happy that there is a day called Earth Day dedicated to celebrating our planet. “I love to learn new ways to become more earth-friendly and learn more about the issues that can be harmful to the planet and can be particularly hazardous to me or my family, including my future family,” she says. “Currently I have no children but it is nice to know that we are taking steps to help them grow up in a clean environment.” Josephina has started to recycle more. “I used to recycle only cans; now I recycle glass, paper and everything else worth recycling. I have also recently bought a bike and have made the commitment to ride it to school at least once a week, weather permitting. I also try to buy food from local farms and farmers’ markets. I do other little things like turning off lights when not in use and not waste water by leaving it running unnecessarily.”