Despite all the challenges of our world today, the need to stay spiritually active and connected remains strong.
Despite all the challenges of our world today, the need to stay spiritually active and connected remains strong.
Remote Ramadan 2020 is a free community initiative by Muslim volunteers to foster a meaningful Ramadan experience for everyone. As we all navigate this new reality during Ramadan, now more than ever we need to reconnect to our faith, and to each other. This means, finding novel ways to combat novel challenges, a notion embedded within the Islamic intellectual tradition that we aspire to represent.
This initiative was started by a cross-functional group of Muslim professionals across the United States and Canada. The team consists of designers, psychotherapists, strategists, researchers, and technologists, all passionate about supporting the Muslim community.
As is the case for many Muslims, Ramadan is a special time for us, and we’re interested in how we can serve others given all the societal challenges from COVID-19. We conducted extensive research through surveys and interviews to learn more about what was top of mind for Muslims heading into Ramadan. We found that needs emerged around 4 primary areas of focus: spirituality, reflection, community connections, and aid.
As part of Remote Ramadan 2020, we send a weekly newsletter every Monday, filled with spiritual prompts and reflections, resources, and curated programming and fundraisers. The newsletter content is based on members’ individual interests, which we collect through an initial survey so we can tailor the experience for what would be most meaningful to you.
Previous newsletters have included everything from hadiths and Quranic passages to parenting tips and Ramadan yoga series. We partner with Muslim organizations to highlight programming across the globe as well. Given all the virtual events during Ramadan, we’ve created a consolidated Calendar so members can check out ongoing events adjusted to their timezone for whenever they’re free.
We also host weekly ‘Ramadan Bazaars’ every Saturday to provide a safe virtual forum for Muslims worldwide to unwind, reflect, and connect with one another through open conversations. This platform affords individuals with easy access to what may be hard to come by at the moment, and something we previously took for granted; meaningful connections with others.
In addition to the newsletter, we’ve created a Facebook Group, now with 750+ members globally, to share reflections and resources. It’s been very active and a great opportunity to learn from Muslim brothers and sisters worldwide. We also have an Instagram account where we share events, reflections, recipes, and much more!
Join us for the end of Ramadan and beyond for the opportunity to personally reflect and connect with others globally. We understand everyone practices Islam differently and we’re here to provide inclusive resources for everyone’s own spiritual journey. As a community-led initiative, we’re constantly seeking feedback from the group to continue to learn and respond to members’ needs as they evolve.
To learn more about this initiative, click here!
