“The Accidental Jihad” – a very odd, praiseworthy but also frustrating, essay from a secularist married to a muslim. Here’s my take on it at City of Brass.
Latest Updates: Ramadan RSS
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aziz
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thabet
I’ll avoid the annual moon sighting wars and simply wish you and your family Eid Mubarak whenever it is for you.
I am off for a week, so some of you will be spared by my harping and idle whining.
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thabet
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aziz
Check out the menu at Sec. Clinton’s Iftar dinner at the State Department!
So when are DC pols gonna start hosting sehri breakfasts instead? that’s when I’ll really be impressed.
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thabet
I have a question I have been meaning to ask our Muslim readers.
Do the mosques in your area, or where you grew up, aim to complete the Qur’an during taravih (whether they do 8 or 20 rakat) in Ramazan? I grew up accustomed to this practice in mosques around London. It is only in the Gulf where I have noticed completion of the Qur’an is not done in many mosques, and was wondering if this is a very local feature of this area.
Note I am not really interested in the fiqh of this (but feel free to talk about it below if you want); more the practice people are familiar with where they grew up/currently live.
Thanks.
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fathima
Palace Prayers is a wonderful site I just discovered — “The aim is to create a new work of art for every day of Ramadhan, 2009.”
I’m particularly fond of this (day 23):
Only to be with You and no-one else
(For David Miliband & Hilary Clinton)As for an iftar
I prefer a quiet one
Without the presence of any bloody bridge builders
Shmoozers or politicians.If you want to build bridges, go to war zones
And bring plenty of cement.
Don’t come to the Mosque smiling in your suit
With a gang of photographers and
Second-rate reporters who will
Write the whole thing up
Just to prove that it happened and
Tick it off a check-list.Islam is unique to each country it goes to
In Senegal, they play music more
In Mali, they make mosques out of mud
In Chechnya, strong, bearded men do soft, Sufi dances
And in the West, iftars are social networking opportunities
Part of government strategies to reach out to the Izlamic worldBut I do not want to be Af-Pak‘d
Or healed
I do not want to join you on the acceptable side
Where every insecure fool thinks they know
Exactly what extremism isNor do I want to laugh and socialise with you at this small and
Tender time.I wish to be alone
And serious
And deeper in love
With the only one who ever matters -
asma
When my husband finally makes his way down the stairs, my frustration abates and he and I sit across from each other and share our early morning meal. We speak intermittently and keep one eye trained on the clock to ensure we finish our food by the time dawn prayers begin. Despite the sparse conversation and the hurried meal, I enjoy the feeling that we are both beginning our obligatory fasts together, as a unit.
Continue reading on Altmuslimah
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johnpi
Chicago man jailed after slaughter of Ramadan lamb.
Abdulsalam Alawi, 38, was charged with four counts of possession of animals for slaughter, a city ordinance violation. Police responding to a neighbour’s complaint found Alawi in his garage with four lambs. One of them was already dead.
….…dozens of police cars showed up. Alawi spent the next eight hours in a police lockup. Alawi said he asked to be released from his handcuffs. The officer who arrested him refused. She asked Alawi what it feels like to be “tied up like a lamb,” Alawi said. A police spokesman declined to comment.
The surviving lambs are currently being held by Animal Care and Control.
Tagged “Ramadan safety” because it may be unsafe to your legal health if you don’t check your local ordinances before you try this in the backyard, garage, etc. People that I know who have done this go to a farm and do it there.
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Kawthar
India’s largest religious seminary issued a fatwa discouraging Muslims from attending iftars hosted by political parties.
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yahya
Thabet, you are relentless aren’t you: don’t 17-hour fasts slow your brain? Anyhow for those like myself who in the slow lane here’s some lighter fare mid-Ramadan. A charming blog – 30 New York mosques in 30 days by two amiable chaps called Aman and Bassam - with more emphasis on the food (lamp biriyani wrap to go) than the fasting from two hungry young guys. Nice overview of a real variegated set of communities in NYC – with lots of photos.
Warning – best viewed near to iftar if you don’t want rumbletums.
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johnpi
Interesting places to break fast: Indonesia.
An iftar at a “home” could be a good way to kick off your culinary journey. This means you could just head over to The Apartment, a lovely eaterie in Kuningan, South Jakarta, which was designed to resemble a cozy premium residence.
Entering the place, you’ll feel delighted to find out that you’re free to dine anywhere you please: The living room, bedroom, pantry, library, bar, terrace or even Jacuzzi and bathroom. The waiters and waitresses are even dressed in pajamas, too. And as your menu arrives, be sure to smile as it’s printed to look like a newspaper — just the thing you’ll find at home. First impression? Very inviting.
“Just like at your own home, you can eat anywhere you want, right?” says the restaurant’s general manager Tito Andhika.
“It’s the same at The Apartment; you can eat on the sofa or even bed. We want you to come here and feel like you’re home — all cozy and comfortable.”
Iftar in the jacuzzi or bathroom attended by strangers in their pajamas. Never occurred to me…
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thabet
Talking of markets, consumers, and religious rites and festivals:
According to a recent study by the Solis agency, which specializes in ‘ethnic marketing’, the halal market (in France) is valued at close to 4 billion euro for 2009, and is estimated to grow at annual rate of 15%. According to Solis, 93% of North Africans and 55% of sub-Saharan Africans buy halal products.
In Italy, a hotel now caters especially for guests who are fasting.
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thabet
Ramadan shopping boom in London’s West End:
A record Ramadan shopping spree has boosted sales in the West End this summer.
Sales of perfume – a traditional gift at the end of the Muslim festival – over the past four weeks are up 60 per cent at Selfridges compared with last year thanks to a surge in the number of wealthy Middle Eastern visitors.
Nearly 150,000 are thought to have visited London in the past month to escape the scorching heat of home.
Shop assistants at the Oxford Street department store said the beauty hall has been as busy as at Christmas, with extra emergency stock and gift wrap called in.
London is used to seeing an influx of shoppers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in July and August, but this year they are coming in greater numbers and spending more because the weak pound has made it better value to buy goods in Britain than in Paris or Milan.
I’ve been told some of the shops have changed widened their aisles to accommodate the large families (plus maids) that visit some of the well known places in Oxford Street and Regents Street.
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thabet
Ramadan, Ramezan, Ramzan, Ramadhan.
Anymore?
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johnpi
Muslim athletes face choices during Ramadan.
New York Times article on the choices Muslim athletes face during Ramadan. The focus is on Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, a tennis player from Pakistan who is playing in the US Open.
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aziz
Here’s the transcript of Obama’s remarks at the WH iftaar last night.
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thabet
Ramadan belt-tightening:
Companies are scaling back the events, called iftar receptions, seen as important opportunities to network with business partners against the backdrop of some of the city’s most luxurious hotels.
Demand for Ramadan tents — the typical setting for iftars — is showing signs of decline, while hotels are recording lower corporate bookings as companies aim to conserve cash amid a property and economic slump in the emirate.
I can’t see much of a scaling back in Abu Dhabi though…
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johnpi
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johnpi
Nice story about Ramadan as a coming-of-age challenge for Muslim children.
Naveed Khan of Waterbury and his three children won’t eat food or drink water for 15 hours today, or any day, through Sept. 19.
The purpose isn’t to inflict pain; it’s to celebrate their Muslim faith as part of the 30 days of Ramadan.
”They’re really excited about it starting, they’re really excited to fast,” Khan said of his sons, ages 8 and 9, who are observing the fast this year for the first time. The month-long period coincides with the start of school for most children. Coupled with classroom demands and the trials of growing up, Ramadan is a challenge for students but it’s hardly a chore.
“Ramadan is a challenge for students but it’s hardly a chore.” Well put.
The fasting is never forced.
Children tend to begin observing on their own accord, before it’s required by Muslim teachings.
Aida Mansoor, the director of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, said her son started fasting at age 5 after watching his parents.
”I stressed that he did not need to fast and would pack his lunch each day, but it would come back unopened as he wanted to participate,” said Mansoor, who lives in West Hartford.
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johnpi
Italian Politicians and Muslim leaders have sprung to the defense of Jose Mourinho after reported threats were made against the Inter Milan coach on extremist websites.
British newspaper Daily Star claimed that death threats had been made against Mourinho on some Islamic sites following comments the Portuguese made relating to the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Last week Mourinho had explained his early substitution of Ghana’s Muntari Sulley against Bari by saying that the practicing Muslim lacked energy, possibly due to observing the fast during Ramadan.
Claudio D’Amico, a right-wing politician, offered this:
“People cannot even make a simple observation, such as during Ramadan a Muslim who doesn’t eat has less energy, without inciting someone’s wrath.
“What Mourinho said is not offensive to anyone, especially the Islamic religion, but a simple banal observation.”
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johnpi
CAIR: EEOC letter says Neb. plant must do more for Muslim workers’ prayer needs.
Muslim advocates said Friday that federal officials determined a Nebraska meatpacking plant wasn’t doing enough to accommodate the religious needs of its Muslim workers but stopped short of laying out specific recommendations.
The Chicago-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission outlined its decision in a letter sent to the organization this week. The decision comes after a nearly yearlong investigation into conditions at the Grand Island JBS plant, where hundreds of Muslim workers walked out in protest last September because they weren’t given time to pray.
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aziz
Taha Raja exhorts us to be thankful – give shukr – this Ramadan.
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johnpi
Soccer (football!) coach blames Ramadan fasting for player’s poor performance.
Muslims around the world are fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, during which faithful followers abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours.
One of those followers is Inter’s Ghana midfielder Muntari Sulley who Mourinho hauled off after just half an hour of Sunday’s 1-1 home draw against Bari due to the former Portsmouth man’s poor performance.
Afterwards, Mourinho suggested Sulley had played badly due to a lack of energy associated with his fast.
….Sulley is not the only player in Italy to be faced with this problem, although many other Muslim footballers choose not to practise Ramadan.
Siena striker Abdelkader Ghezzal, who scored in the 2-1 defeat at home to AC Milan at the weekend, revealed he simply cannot fast and play at the same time.
“I observe the fast during my days off, when there are no games or training,” said the Algerian.
“I’ve always observed Ramadan but I have had to change my habits for health reasons from the first year that I became a professional.
“I was at Crotone (then in Serie C1 but now in Serie B) but after two weeks I felt ill and had to stop.”
Udinese’s Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler, a Muslim of Turkish origin, is another who is not fasting this month, while Genoa’s Moroccan midfielder Houssine Kharja does respect Ramadan.
Tellingly, though, both Ghezzal and Inler played 90 minutes at the weekend, Kharja never got off the bench.
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johnpi
In Doha, the closure of food outlets at daytime during Ramadan has posed a problem to non-Muslim bachelors who do not cook and depend solely on restaurants for their everyday meals.
Many of these bachelors are compelled to prepare their meals, if not purchase in generous quantities at night then reheat them for breakfast and lunch. “I just buy more food at night then reheat it the following day,” said Abhijit, a first timer in Qatar who arrived a couple months ago.
….Experts, however, warn of reheating food more than once as some toxic substances are not destroyed making the food unfit for human consumption. In addition reheating certain kinds of food rinses away nutrients needed by the body. To ease the problem, some food outlets are secretly delivering food to non-Muslims even during daytime, making life a little bit easier for them, sources said. A few hypermarkets are also selling hot food during the day to meet the increasing demand. Customers come to these outlets in hordes to buy for their meal during lunchtime.
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Admin
We now have Qur’an Tweets on the sidebar. sort of obvious, but worth mentioning anyway
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thabet
France 24 has a series on observing Ramadan in France.
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abunoor
Tariq Ramadan is posting brief daily audio “chronicles” on his website during the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan Chronicles
Here is the month of Ramadan…the month of the Qur’an, of introspection, brotherhood, and openness. A blessed month, may God accept our fasting and our commitment.
Happy Ramadan to all of you, Ramadan mubarak
During this month, every day, you will be able to listen to a Chronicle of Ramadan on our site
These are reflections around some Prophetic traditions referring to fasting, its meaning, its objectives, and our responsibilities. A short talk lasting between 3 and 5 minutes in order to meditate, to think, and to share: your comments every day are most welcome.
I hope these exchanges are going to be useful and they will help, all of us, to reconcile ourselves with our hopes and our quest for peace.
May the Light go along with you and love you. May these days be profound, nice, and full of love. It is our prayer, and your gift in sha ar-Rahman
And… Don’t forget to tell the people you love that you love them…
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buzz
A good article in the Washington Post from a nutritionist who has researched the benefits of fasting. Best wishes to those who use the Holy Month of Ramazan to concentrate spiritual knowledge and benefit.Better Health Through Fasting
By Zafar Nomani
professor emeritus of human nutrition and foods
West Virginia UniversityWith the sighting of the crescent moon, the holy month of Ramadan has begun this year, marking the start of a spiritual boot camp in which Muslims fast without any food or water from sunup to sundown. To many, the rigor may seem too tasking, but, as a veteran scientist of clinical nutrition and as a 76-year-old Muslim man who has fasted since I was a boy, growing up in India, I can say that fasting can be a healthy practice not just for God but for you.
Fasting can be healthy for people of all faiths from Christians to Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and others who fast as a part of their spiritual practice. But it’s got to be done right.
Twenty-five years ago in the early 1980s, I started studying the biochemical and physiological impact of “restricted energy intake,” as we call fasting in the business, on the human body, using Ramadan fasting as a model for clinical trials that I ran in the United States and Pakistan. In my hometown of Morgantown, W.V., young Muslim students volunteered to be my guinea pigs, logging their daily meals. In the Middle East and in Lahore, Pakistan, volunteers let me study the effect of fasting on their bodies, analyzing the nutritional component of their diets using food composition tables and computer software.
What I and other researchers have discovered is that fasting has clear spiritual, physical, psychological and social benefits.
Continued here
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muse
Ramadan Mubarak! Or for my desi brethren and sister-en (?), Ramzan Mubarak!
A little something from Rumi on this occasion:
Fasting- Rumi
There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness.
We are lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox
is stuffed full of anything, no music.
If the brain and belly are burning clean
with fasting, every moment a new song comes out of the fire.
The fog clears, and new energy makes you
run up the steps in front of you.
Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry.
Emptier, write secrets with the reed pen.
When you’re full of food and drink, Satan sits
where your spirit should, an ugly metal statue
in place of the Kaaba. When you fast,
good habits gather like friends who want to help.
Fasting is Solomon’s ring. Don’t give it
to some illusion and lose your power,
but even if you have, if you’ve lost all will and control,
they come back when you fast, like soldiers appearing
out of the ground, pennants flying above them.
A table descends to your tents,
Jesus’ table.
Expect to see it, when you fast, this table
spread with other food, better than the broth of cabbages. -
plimfix
Tasneem Project Fatwa, 29 Shaban 1430.
Bismillah. I am the primary carer of a child with profound autism, who for most of his childhood was hyperactive. A few years ago, while my son was on school holiday, I fasted the first seven days of Ramadan. I haven’t fasted for more than one day at a time since. In fact, I think it was the beginning of the end of my ongoing commitment to traditional Muslim piety.
People who parent children like my son don’t think life is at its limit. Not because we’re heroes, because we’re not. It’s just the limit soon becomes the norm, until someone or something pushes you that inch beyond what you can take. So if you’re caring for someone like my son this Ramadan, take it easy. And if anybody makes you feel obliged to fast when you don’t really want to, their entire Ramadan fast is invalidated. Alright, I can’t say that — but if it was up to me, it would be!
Allah knows better.
