By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

The threat of war and the sniper shootings case have made the holy month of Ramadan an anxious time for many U.S. Muslims, just as it was last year after the terrorist attacks.

But Tristate Muslims say the events in the world, including a possible war against Iraq, are not changing their view of their most important religious holiday, which begins today if the crescent after the new moon is sighted.

RAMADAN FACTS

Begins today and continues until Eid al-Fitr, or the Feast of the Fast-Breaking, on about Dec. 6. Believed to be the month in the Islamic calendar when God revealed the Quran. Throughout the month, Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to sunset. The fast is one of the five "pillars" of Islam, or commandments from God. Throughout the month, Muslims will break the fast with friends and family nightly and participate in special prayers, called taraweeh, after the nighttime prayer. And on Lailat al-Qadr, or the Night of Power or Destiny, Muslims will observe the anniversary of the night the Prophet Muhammad began receiving revelations from God through the angel Gabriel. Islamic Center of Cincinnati, 8092 Plantation Drive, West Chester Township: Community dinners at sundown every Saturday to break the fast, and on Dec. 1 or 2, a program to observe the complete recitation of the Quran where local Muslims will spend all or part of the night praying.

LOCAL OBSERVANCES

Mosque Lidd Malik, 1434 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine: nightly meals for the hungry at the break-fast meal at sundown. Islamic Association of Cincinnati, 3668 Clifton Ave., Clifton: Nov. 26 seminar "Together We Learn" at 5 p.m. with speaker Abourabdel Salam of New York City.

ON THE NET

Council on American-Islamic Relations: www.cair-net.org. Islamic Society of North America: www.isna.net

"This is a month that Muslims celebrate with prayer, fast and good deeds because Allah has revealed the Quran to us and Allah blesses us," said Abdul Kariem Muhammad, a member of the Mosque Jidd Malik in Over-the-Rhine. "Every Muslim looks forward to this holy month, and there is nothing in this world that can change that."

But representatives at national Muslim groups, like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, have some concerns.

"It would be like on Christmas Day, if Christians felt they were in the position of guilt by association," said Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based group.

At the holiest time of the year, "you feel like you have to defend your faith and defend yourself and prove that you are a real American," he said.

In Islam, Ramadan marks God's revelation of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, to the Prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago. Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex during daylight hours in an act of sacrifice and purification.

The holiday is marked on a lunar calendar and begins at the first sighting of the crescent moon, which should take place today in the United States, according to Khalid Shaukat, a lunar observation consultant for major Islamic groups.

At the Islamic Center of Cincinnati in West Chester Township, 2,000 local Muslims will observe Ramadan with prayer and a community meal every Saturday night to break the fast, said Karen Dabdoub, the center's administrator.

"This is a month that God has asked us to share in special worship," Mrs. Dabdoub said, "to practice self-control, remembering to be compassionate by helping the hungry and working hard to improve ourselves spiritually."

The Mosque Jidd Malik will show its charity every night in the month with a meal to feed the hungry at sundown.

"It's a commandment from Allah to give. And the more good deeds you do, the more those deeds are blessed by Allah," Mr. Muhammad said.

And while the neighborhoods that Cincinnati's mosques call home have been nothing but supportive in the last year, other parts of the country are feeling a strain.

Last year, the holiday came two months after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Hundreds of Muslims, many from the Northeast, were detained or arrested by authorities looking for terrorists. American bombs were falling on Afghanistan.

This year, the nation is poised for another military conflict with a Muslim nation: Iraq. And news that one of the Washington-area sniper suspects was a convert to Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam has some Muslims fearful of a backlash similar to the one that followed Sept. 11, even though the status of Mr. Farrakhan's group as part of orthodox Islam is disputed.

But Mr. Muhammad, who worships at a predominantly African-American mosque, said the sniper's claim to the faith has not caused any problems.

"We discussed it here, but we felt that his messages claiming that he was God made it clear he really wasn't a Muslim," he said. "Allah is the only God; there is no man who is God."

Ramadan is a time of introspection, prayer and compassion. Each day of fasting ends with family and friends gathering to share a rich meal that begins with dates, juice and soup and ends with sticky pastries.

That communal meal in the evening has traditionally been a great celebration.

But for the past two years, world events have dulled some of the joy.

Muslims agonized over the deaths of innocent civilians in New York, Washington, D.C., and Afghanistan last year, and fear much greater destruction and death if the United States attacks Iraq in an effort to topple Saddam Hussein.

But Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America, based in Plainfield, Ind., said American Muslims have one reason to be especially joyful this Ramadan.

"The terrorists thought the power of America was in those tall towers and took them down," Mr. Syeed said. "But they didn't know the real power of America is in its people of all colors and religions coming together to make a society in which everyone contributes, and that has not changed."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.