TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Muslims in Taipei described the Taipei Grand Mosque as a special place during the month of Ramadan.

During Ramadan, worshippers gather each night at different mosques for iftar - the end of fasting. In Muslim countries, mosques can be found on every street corner, but this is not the case in Taipei.

Taiwanese Muslim Abdullah Cheng (鄭平) told Taiwan News that because of the relatively few places of worship, Muslims will meet people they know during every Ramadan visit to the Taipei mosque. “This is not something I have experienced having lived in many Muslim countries before and it is something special," he said. 

Abdullah spoke to Taiwan News on Wednesday (March 20), when about 400 worshippers came to the mosque for iftar. He said this is about the minimum number of worshippers that attend during any iftar, and on weekends the number will be much higher.

During Ramadan, evening prayers at the mosque are led by one of two visiting Imams, who are both named Abdulrahman. Abdulrahman from Myanmar regularly travels to Taiwan for Ramadan, while Abdulrahman from Saudi Arabia was brought to Taiwan this year by the Saudi Arabian office in Taipei.

Men eat after breaking their fast at Taipei Grand Mosque on Wednesday, with Cheng Tai-Hsiang pictured center front. (Taiwan News, Jono Thomson photo)

Cheng Tai-Hsiang (鄭泰祥) is the director of the Taipei Grand Mosque and formerly served as the head of Taiwan’s representative office in Turkey. He told Taiwan News the mosque’s kitchen during Ramadan is fondly referred to as “Taipei-stan.”

This is because worshippers are fortunate to be able to eat Pakistani and Indian foods at iftar, Cheng said. Cooked by a team of volunteers, iftar meals include chicken, beef, and lamb curries, served with rice and salads.

Cheng said people from at least 30 countries gather for iftar at the mosque during Ramadan, making the event one of the most internationally diverse places in Taiwan. “This is a very unique point of Islam in Taiwan,” he said.

“We want the Taiwanese people to know that Islam is a religion of life, and it's a religion of peace,” he said. “We are open in society, and in Taiwan, we don't have Islamophobia: Taiwanese people are friendly to Muslims,” he said.

Abdullah said for many people, Ramadan is something to be enjoyed with their families. However, he said that some of the Taiwanese converts to the religion may be the only Muslims in their group.

“For them having a community like this is especially important,” he said. 

Saudi Arabian Imam Abdulrahman speaks at the Taipei Grand Mosque on Wednesday as his comments are translated from Arabic to English. (Taiwan News, Jono Thomson photo)

For those converts and others, Abdullah is broadcasting seminars on the Muslim prophet Muhammed’s teachings in Chinese on each night of Ramadan. He said finding this kind of information in Chinese can be hard to come by, and that the talks have been well received.

Abdullah said there is one main thing on everyone’s mind during Ramadan: the last year’s Ramadan. “Every time we prepare for a new Ramadan, we feel nostalgic about the previous one,” he said.

“If you're not a Muslim, you might think this a month that we don't look forward to, but actually it's the exact opposite,” he said.

Abdullah said that although the community aspect of Ramadan in Taiwan is important, the main point of Ramadan is to attain “God consciousness,” which he said goes to the core of Muslim people’s identity. “A Muslim by definition means somebody who submits willingly to the will of Almighty God," he said.

“So, in order to do that, you need to have God consciousness,” he said. “That means whatever you're doing, you're aware that God is watching you.”

A girl watches as men pray in the Taipei Grand Mosque on Wednesday. (CNA photo)