DURING RAMADAN, MUSLIMS NOURISH THE SPIRIT.(RELIGION)

Byline: AZRA HAQQIE Staff writer

This weekend marks the start of the monthlong observance of Ramadan. Many members of the estimated 500 Muslim families in the Capital Region will be among those worldwide who will fast from dawn to dusk during the Islamic month.

Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Koran from God to Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel 14 centuries ago.

The fast involves more than abstaining from food and drink. ``The spirit of Ramadan is the spirit of self-search,'' says Mokhtar Maghraoui, imam of the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie.

``This year, besides the focus on our spiritual consciousness, we …