Ramadhan in Bendigo

As the number of Muslim family is small, the atmosphere of Ramadhan in Bendigo is dreary. Furthermore, the lack of Islamic facilities (such as Mosque) also a significant factor to it. The city of 90,000 population only has little musholla to serve Muslim community; whereas the musholla itself was located in the La Trobe University and it is not owned by the community. This problem has been arised for many years, although the muslim community has tried hard to propose their own mosque. The difficulty on funding is the first reason, while the other reason is the steady number of muslim (and sometimes decline) can not ensure the approval of public service for muslim.

However, the spirit of Ramadhan is preserved by certain commitment muslims. Every year they hold taraweh prayer in each night and gather "ifthar" in the weekend. The dreary atmosphere encourage them to pray actively. They also get benefits from the quiet Bendigo's ambience to pray more concentrate and easily. For me, it is really hard to get use to in this circumtance as I often remember the spirit of Ramadhan in Indonesia. But, I realize that become a muslim in Bendigo would be an advantage and excellent experience for me. At least, I can focus on my daily "muamalah" and not thinking on some "my countries' old tradition" such as buying new clothes, shopping or go to hometown (mudik). I also would not experience the glamorous and luxurious Ramadhan style, just humble and modest that Insha Allah lead me to peaceful wisdom.

Ramadhan Mubarak Brother and Sister. Hopefully this Ramadhan will make us as better Muslim than before.