RAMADAN, YOM KIPPUR As religious holidays intersect, Muslims and Jews will share fasting

It's a rarity for the two holy observances to occur at the same time.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
By a coincidence of the calendar, the world's 1 billion Muslims and 14 million Jews will share a religious practice this month: fasting.
Both groups will go without food and drink during the daylight hours Thursday, observing their faiths' holiest holidays in fervent prayer and reflection.
Muslims will be observing the holy month of Ramadan, which began Tuesday. From sunrise to sunset for 30 days, they will refrain from eating and drinking.
At the same time, Jews will be midway through the sunset-to-sunset fast day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur is the climax of the Ten Days of Awe, which began at sunset Monday with Rosh Hashana, the New Year.
Hindu celebration
While Muslims and Jews celebrate their holy days, 800 million Hindus the world over are completing the semiannual festival of Navaratri, the Nine Nights of the Divine Mother, from sundown Tuesday to midnight of Oct. 12. Some Hindus will take only water for that period, while others will eat only small amounts of light food, celebrating the nine personalities of God in the female incarnation.
From the beginning of recorded history, fasting has played a role in fostering a sense of heightened spirituality. A tradition in many faiths, fasting is believed to concentrate the mind by focusing attention on the divine. Also common to the practice are exceptions, primarily for reasons of health.
Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, explains: "When the body's instincts and desires are subdued, it clears the mind and you feel a lot more spiritual. You start seeing a lot of things differently. It has a very magical effect."
Catholics trace their tradition of fasting to the Jews in the Old Testament, according to the Rev. Gregory Parkes, chancellor of the Diocese of Orlando and pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration, Fla.
Catholics fast in a limited way on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, taking only one full meal. Until the Second Vatican Council, Catholics had to abstain from eating at midnight before they took Communion at Mass. Since Vatican II, they can eat up to an hour before Communion.
Catholics fast
During Lent, the 40 days preceding Easter -- Christianity's holiest day -- Catholics traditionally have engaged in fasting, alms giving and prayer, Parkes says, much like Muslims during Ramadan.
The modern Protestant practice of fasting "is born out of desperation for God to do something in our nation," says the Rev. Ronnie Floyd, author of "The Power of Fasting and Prayer."
In the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Fasting helped Jesus to resist the temptations of the Devil, including the power to turn stones into loaves of bread. Jesus tells Satan: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Floyd, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., defines fasting as "abstinence from food with a spiritual goal in mind. It is when you do that which is unnatural in order to engage the God of heaven to do something supernatural in your life, job, ministry, or nation."
Jews and Muslims will be sharing that experience later this month.
A rare occurrence
The intersection of Yom Kippur and Ramadan occurs rarely. Both Jewish and Muslim holidays are linked to the lunar calendar, but the Jewish high holidays are always in the fall, while Ramadan moves through the year, a few days at a time.
A coalition of religious groups called "The Tent of Abraham, Hagar & amp; Sarah" (tentofabraham.org) has dubbed the coincidence of holidays "God's October Surprise." The coalition is asking members of all faiths to join a national fast "for reflection, repentance, reconciliation and renewal" on Thursday, or as near to it as possible.
Historically, the fasts are linked, according to Musri of the Islamic Society.
When the prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina, Musri says, "he encountered for the first time the Jewish community that lived on the outskirts of Medina." The Jews were fasting for Yom Kippur, Musri says, and Muhammad "encouraged Muslims to fast."
The Quran specifies that fasting take place during the month of Ramadan: "Fasting has been prescribed to you as it has been prescribed to those before you so that you would attain piety."
Not just food and drink
For Muslims, fasting applies to more than food and drink.
Smoking and sexual activity are out as well, and, Musri says, "You can't be talking about others in a negative way, thinking negative, listening to anything that's inappropriate or unlawful."
Still, it's hunger and thirst that can be the toughest challenges. The fact that he can't reach for a snack or a soft drink as he goes about his daily life "creates a sense of awareness," says Haseeb Qadri, 27, of Maitland, Fla. Fasting is a constant reminder of the positive thoughts and actions, and the prayerful frame of mind that Ramadan represents.
Muslims break their fast at sundown each day with a festive meal shared with family, friends and neighbors.
For Jews, Yom Kippur means no food or drink from sundown-to-sundown. Other "sensual pleasures," such as bathing, sex, and wearing leather shoes, also are prohibited. Most of the day is spent in the synagogue in prayer and reflection. The idea is to "delve into your soul," Rabbi Richard Chizever says.