By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

The threat of another Persian Gulf war and the arrest of a Muslim man in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings have made the holy month of Ramadan an anxious time for many U.S. Muslims, just as it was last year after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

LOCAL OBSERVANCES

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. Muslims will pray all or part of the night. Mosque Jidd Malik, 1434 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine: Nightly food for the hungry at the breakfast 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 • Islamic Society of North America

ABOUT RAMADAN

• Began Wednesday and continues until Eid al-Fitr, or the Feast of the Fast-Breaking, 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 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.

But local Muslims say the world events, including a possible war against Iraq, are not changing their view of their most important religious holiday, which began Wednesday.

"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 of national Muslim groups, such as 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 spokesperson 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," Hassan 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 was confirmed Tuesday night 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."

Each night during Ramadan, the Mosque Jidd Malik will have a meal for 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.

News that one of the Washington-area sniper suspects, John Allen Muhammad, 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 Abdul Kariem Muhammad, who worships at a predominantly African-American mosque, said the sniper suspect's claim to the faith has not caused any problems.

"We discussed it here, but we felt that (the sniper's) 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."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.