ATLANTA -- Somewhere in the world, the sun is setting and its time to break fast. The world's Muslims are in the middle of Ramadan, a month of daytime fasting, followed by evening communal meals and prayer. It will end with the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr, a morning of prayer capped by days of celebration, eating and visiting. Three hundred nightly regulars at Masjid al-Farooq follow the same schedule as every other Muslim in the world. But al-Farooq's location is a little different. It is in Atlanta, Ga.,the chief city of the American Southeast, located in the middle of the Bible Belt. Much of the U.S. Southeast is known as the Bible Belt -- a region strongly attuned to Evangelical Christianity and a place where many of the natives vote and live with religion in their hearts. But in this region, especially in Atlanta, Ramadan is becoming part of the religious calendar.
Celebrating Ramadan in the Deep South
