Fasting is that activity Ramadhan, the holy month in Islam, that we cannot eat, drink, and don’t do bad thing from morning until afternoon.

Every year, from 2003 until this year, I with my husband have been living in Japan without fasting condition like in Indonesia. In Japan, muslim community is a few, maybe 30 persons only. They come from Mauritania, Oman, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sudan, Malaysia, Jordan, Pakistan, Kenya, and Japan.

This year, fasting started at September 23. Every Sunday, we met each other for breaking the fasting (Ifthar) at International Student House, Utsunomiya University. The room that is used iftar, actually a big room but some body put so many apartment equipments at the room and makes the room small. We think that this problem doesn’t disturb us.

On October 15 after 3 weeks fasting, we invited International Student Staff from Utsunomiya University. We invited them because we want to show them that the Islamic culture, when breaking the fasting, always invite many people to do iftar together in order to have the more blessing from Allah. At ifhtar time, everybody bring exotic food from his home country. Bangladesh people brought some food, like Jorda, Khichuri, Lentil, Chapati, Puri, Polao, Chicken Curry, and Cabbage Curry (Shobgi). Jorda is sweet dish with rice, pineapple, orange, coconut, and resin sugar. Khichuri is rice with bean, meat, egg and spice.

From Indonesia, Tuti’s Family, my family, Sidiq, Ana, and Cici made Pecel (Peanut sauce/based salad), Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay), Ayam Panggang (Roasted Chicken), Kalio (spicy condiments-coated beef), Kolak (coconut milk dessert with potato sweet and pumpkin), and agar2 (jelly-like dessert).

Malaysia people brought Chicken Biryani and Ayam Madu (Chicken with honey). From Pakistan food, Aga and his wife, Mariam made Masala Kebab (grilled mutton). Another food from Pakistan is Naan (round flatbread). Muna from Jordan brought Mansaf. From Oman, Abdullah brought robianiah. Abeer from Egypt brought Mskaha.

From Mauritania, Sheriff brought Couscous. What is couscous? Couscous is a staple food in the Magrib in Mauritania, Algeria, Eastern Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, that requires very little in the way of utensils for its preparation. It is an ideal food both nomadic and agriculture peoples. The preparation of couscous is one that symbolizes “happiness and abundance,” in the words of one culinary anthropologist. Couscous was traditionally made from hard part of the hard wheat, the part of the grain that resisted the grinding of the relatively primitive millstone. The name is also used for prepared dishes made from other grains, such as millet, sorghum, or maize. Couscous is traditionally served under a meat or vegetable stew.