DECATUR - The girls stand and kneel several times while praying inside the Masjid Walihasan Islamic Center. With their stomachs rumbling, the girls can't wait to eat.

After all, they've been fasting from sunrise to sunset for the past 30 days in observance of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, which ended Friday.

Ramadan commemorates, according to Muslim believers, the time when Allah sent the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad in Mecca to give him the teachings of the Quran.

Inas Mahmood, 12, said she practiced fasting last year. But now that she has reached the age of puberty, it's mandatory based on the customs of her Muslim faith.

While at the mosque, her head covered in a veil, she proudly sports a gray T-shirt that has the words: Ramadan - Time to Recharge.

"I think it's easier to fast at school because it takes your mind off the food," said Mahmood, who attends Maroa-Forsyth Middle School.

However, she always has to tell other students why she can't eat while in the lunch room at school. "I have to explain to them that it is part of my religion."

Inas giggled and added, "The other students think that we can't eat for the whole month. And I have to tell them we would die if we didn't eat."

Amena Ahmed, 12, who also attends Maroa-Forsyth Middle School, began fasting last year. "I got used to being hungry, but it became easier," she said.

Since Amena can't eat or drink anything while fasting, the hardest part has been following gym class. "After PE is when I get really thirsty," she said.

While at the mosque, both girls enjoy the first break from fasting by diving into snacks lined up on a table in one of the rooms. They chow down on chicken salad sandwiches, along with flaky pastries filled with spicy beef, a traditional Muslim favorite.

All the women and girls are in a separate room. They listen over the loud speaker for the first of the prayers to begin.

After a while, it's dinner time at the mosque. A feast of Chinese food is brought out in large tub containers and set on tables for everyone to eat. Again the men and women eat and pray in separate rooms.

Finally, the evening winds down with a special hour-long prayer known as the taraweeh, during which one-thirtieth of the Quran is recited each day of the month.

Many public schools and universities are starting to consider Muslim students' requests in accommodating them for Ramadan, according to the online religion news source Religionlink.org.

Across the country, however, there have been challenges by those who claim it as a violation of the separation of church and state.

For instance, the San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif. is under scrutiny for allowing Muslim students at an elementary school to have 15 minutes a day for prayer.

The University of Michigan in Dearborn, Mich., is swimming in controversy after deciding to use student fees to install footbaths in campus restrooms for those Muslim students.

But in New York City, Muslim groups are seeking to get two Muslim holidays recognized as school holidays - Eid-al-Adha (celebration and observance of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca) and the Eid-al-Fitr (marking the end of Ramadan).

Besides not eating, drinking, smoking, arguing or talking loudly and refraining from relational contact with one's spouse, it's also a time of giving, said Brother Robert Sharif, a member at the Masjid mosque.

"We pay zakat (alms). That is one of the pillars of Islam, where we have collected a certain amount of money to give to someone in need in the Muslim community. We also give gifts to the children on the last day of Ramadan," Sharif said, and they fellowship again during the final feast.

Sheila Smith can be reached at sheilas@herald-review.com or 421-7963.