Briton who embraced Islam unable to fast but grateful
DUBAI-BASED TEACHER MAKES THE MOST OF RAMADAN BY IMMERSING IN OTHER PILLARS OF HIS NEW RELIGION
When British expat Alexander Gabriel, who has embraced Islam, found out he couldn’t fast, the news came as “a major blow” to him. The 32-year-old Dubai school teacher has epilepsy. He had a seizure, triggered by dehydration, when he first tried to fast in Ramadan as a new Muslim in 2014, when he was teaching in Egypt.
“During my first Ramadan, I discovered that I could not take part in the fasting due to my having epilepsy; I had a seizure part-way through and was told that dehydration was one of my triggers. This was a major blow to me as a convert — to not take part in one of the five pillars of Islam,” said Gabriel, who teaches Year 4 students at GEMS Wellington Academy — Silicon Oasis, Dubai.
But Gabriel saw his predicament as an opportunity to turn his focus on the various spiritual aspects of Ramadan — such as kindness to others. “Luckily, my shaikh [Islamic scholar] at the time explained to me that Ramadan is not simply about fasting; there is a much greater depth that should be brought to the surface.”
‘Amplify the other pillars’
For Gabriel and his family here — wife Hannah, daughter Luna and son Roman — Ramadan is “a constantly developing event” in the household. “Due to my epilepsy, I am unable to fast, so it is important that we observe this wonderful month in more depth. We try to amplify the other pillars where possible and teach our two children the values of being good people,” he said.
Luna has just turned four years old and her parents are planning to reinforce what they have always taught her — the importance of charity and how to care for others.
Giving to others
“Since she was two, Luna has always helped us with charity. We try to do what we can for the local community, regardless of where we are living, and at such a young age, Luna understands the importance of what she is doing.
She helped us to give food to the taxi drivers in Bangkok, to construction workers in Doha and to security guards here in Dubai,” added Gabriel, who is from Southend-On-Sea, Essex, which is in the south of England. He pointed out that she cannot do this directly herself this year because of social distancing requirements currently in place.
Daily goals
But Luna also has a Ramadan calendar, which Gabriel created together with his wife. Each day, he explained, there is a different message or request to try and further strengthen the meaning of the month. They may be small steps, such as being kind to her younger brother, or larger activities, such as helping to create food packages that the family can give to others. “When our son, Roman, is old enough, we will be encouraging him to take part too and we hope that Luna will already have enough knowledge to support him.”
‘I’m incredibly grateful’
Gabriel said living with epilepsy has given him a spiritual outlook towards life. “In a way, even though epilepsy isn’t the greatest mental illness to have, I am incredibly grateful for the life view and desire for religious understanding that it has given me, which I hope our children will adopt as they grow,” he added.
This is his second Ramadan in Dubai — combining his favourite time of the year with his favourite place to live with his family. “You will never find a greater sense of calm than a predominately Muslim country during Ramadan — that is a huge love of mine. The general mentality is one of reflection and peace. It is obvious that people are thinking about who they are, what they have and what their place is within the world. Kindness is amplified — it is like we set a subconscious target for the year ahead of us,” Gabriel said.
Due to my epilepsy, I am unable to fast, so it is important that we observe this wonderful month in more depth.” Alexander Gabriel | British expat
Appreciating family
“The appreciation of community and family goes through the roof too. People will gather for iftar with their friends and family — even strangers get together! Of course, with the current social distancing requirements, this cannot be the case this year, but my love of these aspects is still there.”