Key Points
Ramadan, occurring in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, will begin on 12 March this year.
Madz Kamlon migrated to Australia five years ago, adhering to the Islamic faith.
As a mother now, she says her connection to her faith grows stronger every day.
Madz Kamlon, who moved to Australia from the Philippines in 2019, says being a practising Muslim in an overwhelmingly Catholic country had been challenging at times.
“When I was young, I used to think Ramadan was boring. Now that I am a mother, I fully understand why religion and faith are important,” she says.
Kamlon says motherhood was her turning point to reconnecting with her religion, and that she now aspires to serve as a role model for her son.
‘Reverting’ to Islam
Born and raised in the Philippines, Kamlon admits that at first, she struggled to understand the practices of Islam.
As of 2020, it was the second-most prevalent religion in her homeland with a reported 6,981,710 Muslims (6.4 per cent) out of the total population of more than 100 million, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
However, more than 90 per cent of the country are Christian, with almost 80 per cent practising Catholics.
Kamlon says her mother “reverted” to Islam while her father is an “Ustadh”, an Arabic term that is used as a title of respect for a male teacher or instructor in Islamic studies.
“In Islam, when you embrace the faith, you have to convert, but we refer to it as ‘reverting’ because we believe that we were all born as Muslims,” Madz Kamlon says.
‘I felt different’
Kamlon says there were challenges growing up amid predominantly Catholic relatives on her mother’s side and attending a non-Muslim school.
“My mother was not forceful. She gave us freedom and space during times when things were too difficult for us,” she says. However, growing up as a Muslim in a (majority) Christian community made me feel like I didn’t quite belong.
“Even on ordinary days, I often felt different, especially during religion classes where the focus was on Christian practices like the discussion about sacraments.”
She says her feeling of isolation was compounded by the teasing of some of her classmates.
“I understood that I was different and didn’t quite fit in, and [I’m kind of] thankful that I was not observing Ramadan then,” she says.
‘Ramadan is our Christmas’
Once her father came back from abroad in 2013, Kamlon says he continued to teach their family the Islamic tradition.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, is a month of fasting. This is when it is believed the Holy Quran was revealed from heaven, serving as guidance for both men and women to pray and reflect.
However, Kamlon says she can’t help but notice the joy of the Christmas celebration in the Christian community.
“I have a fondness for it because of my mother’s side of the family. We celebrate Christmas enthusiastically, and as I grew older, I developed a strong attachment to the festivities. My mum would compare Ramadan to Christmas,” she says.
‘Passing down Islam’
Kamlon says both she and her late husband were keen to raise their son, Khalil, born in 2008, as a Muslim.
“It’s a bit easier to expose my son to Islam because my father is here. He organises a specific day and time for them to study Islam, including the Quran, so he can focus more on teaching my child compared to our time before when he was away,” she says.
“In our religion, the prayers of your child help you in the afterlife. That’s one of the reasons why my father taught him so well because he instilled in him that his prayer would be beneficial to his (late) dad.”
Knowing that my son is still connected to his father through prayers, I let my child practise Islam.
‘Renewed faith’
Nearly five years ago, Kamlon moved to Victoria to study and met her present husband who is also a Muslim.
Islam is also the second-most prevalent religion in Australia. According to the 2021 Census, 813,392 individuals, comprising 3.2 per cent of the total Australian population, identified as Muslims, of which just over 300 are Filipino Muslims.
Kamlon says understanding the meaning of Ramadan and Islam, in general, is no longer complicated because of her father and spouse.
“There’s a significant change in perception when you become a mother. It’s not just about faith; it’s about understanding the importance of religion,” she says. Madz Kamlon says Ramadan is the time for people to fast and spend time with prayers.
‘Setting a good example for my son’
This year, Ramadan will begin on Tuesday, 12 March, based upon the sighting of the crescent of the Moon.
“It is the time for people to fast, spend time with prayers, reflect, and give back to the community,” Kamlon says. “So, when we say fast – it doesn’t only mean that you [must] stop eating or drinking, it is also about [controlling] your worldly desire that includes sexual activities, or vices, so you [must] fast from all those from morning ’til night.
“In the past few years, I’ve begun to strengthen my connection with my faith. This year’s Ramadan feels like a test for me because I used to be distant from God or Allah. “It’s not just about me anymore; it’s about setting an example for my son. I have to be a role model.”
