Ramadan is Coming

Ramadan. The holy month in Islam.  It’s a month that celebrates when the angel Gabriel came to mohammed and revealed the teachings of Koran.

It’s a ritual during to slow down, reflect, purify and reconnect with god, to show devotion to him and his creation. It’s a ritual to understand the suffering of the poor and less fortunate, to give to them and understand their suffering. A strong belief in Islam being equality of man. 

Ramadan is a big. deal. in the Arab world. 

Whole countries stop. Actually whole worlds stop, like the entire Arab world. Businesses close, governments shut, families come together, and there’s a lot of sleeping. Not to mention the controversy on imposed fasting

During Ramadan, from sun up to sun down, one abstains from consuming pretty much anything. Food, water (yes water), cigarettes, participating in sex. Those particularly devout, even abstain from things like television movies, sports, games. Women are expected to dress plainly, with no makeup or perfume.

Essentially, during the day light hours are looked at as a time to be pure, completely they way you were made, with no substances or alterations.

Many muslims who have stopped praying 5 times a day use ramadan as a time to recommit to prayer. Others use the time to quit a nasty habit such as smoking. 

Alcohol and cigarettes technically aren’t allowed, with a 40-day detox pre-that starts before Ramdan to “rid the alcohol” from the body, but some just wait until evening for their nicotine fix.

Anyways, this all sounds a bit extreme, and it’s certainly not easy feat, but I respect the crap out of it.  I think its a healthy and helpful exercise in life, what it means to be human, what it means to be alive. I think the practice of sitting in uncomfortable situations, and sitting with your human desires, breaking habits and altering routines is perhaps the most beneficial exercise one can experience. And I also think a lot of people don’t have the personal will (myself include) to necessarily choose to participate in  practice like this out of the blue. 

Intermittent fasting has a crazy amount of health benefits, some of which being improved brain function, lowering inflammation and life extension. 

The funny thing though, is that some (certainly not all) use this time to sleep all day and eat all night. So many of the traditional ramadan foods are sugar and flour filled. As you can imagine this is basically the opposite intention of this time. I call this Ramadan cheating.

This article from the New York Times talks about some of the hypocrisy of Ramdan, in both those participating and the muslims governments requiring their citizens to participate in the fast: 

“Muslims around the world observe this 1,400-year-old practice, from the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, where it originated, to Scandinavia, where the latitude has forced some scholars to issue fatwas to accommodate the Quran’s prescription to fast from dawn until dusk. But no matter where they are, Muslims should be able to fast according to the dictates of their conscience. Unfortunately, some authoritarian governments violate this fundamental freedom. Some ban the Ramadan fast, while others impose it...

Eating or drinking in public during the holy month may mean deportation, a fine or even jail. In many other countries, even if fasting is not enforced by law it is compelled by social pressure. So people — both religious minorities and Muslims who choose not to fast — must appear as if they are fasting, even if they are not.This religious authoritarianism is senseless and self-defeating. Fasting during Ramadan is an act of worship intended for God. It is meaningful only when it is driven by a genuine will to obey God’s commandments — not the laws of the state or the vigilantism of society. The latter does not nurture true piety, it only nurtures fakeness and hypocrisy. That is why the Quran says there should be “no compulsion in religion” — and no compulsion in fasting, either."

There is a lot of controversy on imposing (and foreboding) fasting during Ramdan. Muslims can be arrested is caught eating or drinking during fasting hour. But the Koran itself states there is “no compulsion in religion” hence no compulsion in fasting, either (It’s the same case for women wearing a Hijab). But here again is the time-old tale of political oppression, not religious oppression that comes down to poor interpretation of religious text, and exercise of political power (seriously, 

I fasted for Ramadan last year with a few hiccups, but the experience was profound and dare I say enjoyable…I learned a lot about myself and this culture I am deeply submerged in. The biggest lesson I came away with was simply gratitude. Gratitude for everything I take for granted, that I barely think about throughout the day. Many times when the time came to eat, I didn’t mind what there was to eat, because I was simply just grateful to have the food. 

Frankly we are entirely too fast paced in the western world, running around with our lattes, instant oatmeal and drinkable yogurts. We can’t even stop to eat. We can barely stop to think or urinate. And while I will certainly be the first to complain about the hassle and speed of life here sometimes (hint: it can be very slow, annoying and full of beuracratic bullshit, and cultural exchange) we all could stand a month this chill out, reset, reassess out habits and relationships. 

I will participate in Ramadan this year again. I am choosing to fast as an exercise of the human condition and to recommit myself to goals that I have in my life and to my creator. I am not a muslim, but I respect the dedication of the religion and I live in the muslim culture, I want to experience as much life as possible in my time here on this planet.. and I will not die or get sick by just changing the hours of day that I eat…

Ramadan Mubarak folks. And so it begins.