A brief aside from Romania…
Like many Westerners, I have always been intrigued by Islamic cultures. When I was in college, I chose to live in an “international” dormitory where I became friends with people from many different countries. Oddly enough I was even elected to be President of the “International Students Association” during my Senior year. Among my friends were people from North Africa, the Near East and the Middle East. Although we came from very diverse cultural backgrounds, there did not seem to be so much difference (they all did and thought things that other college students did and thought – studying or avoiding studies, career thoughts and planning, dreams, fun…). This was my first real encounter with people from Islamic countries, but because we were in college, we really just enjoyed each other’s company; the subject of religion and cultural traditions was not raised so often. During graduate school and much of my time in Italy, I (unfortunately) never encountered anyone from Islamic countries. This is until about a year ago, when I was graced by having made two very close friends from Turkey and subsequently met many of their friends..
Without going into so many details, my “new” friendship led to a growing interest in Islam – I have read some general history books, several novels by Near/Middle Eastern authors and the Qur’an. This literally opened up a whole new world for me. There used to be about 1.4 billion people in the world who I knew extremely little about and although there is still far more to learn, this incredible door has opened.
Sometime in the spring when I learned that Ramadan would occur between about August 20 and Sept. 20, I thought about celebrating, even if in my own way (after all, I am not Muslim). As the new moon of August approached, I thought more and more about it. We all know that Muslims fast during their month of Ramadan (which shifts each year because the Islamic calendar is based upon the lunar cycle), but I really did not know what was involved until my friends told me. You are, in fact, allowed to eat, but it has to be before the sun rises and after it sets, which during this time of year was before 5:30 a.m. (around 6:15 toward the end of Ramadan) and 8:30 p.m. (7:30 the last week or so).
The first day took place on a Saturday and since I did not manage to wake up before sunrise, I simply did not have breakfast. As the day went on, I could feel my stomach calling and, in fact, I broke down and ate. Sunday too, I did not fast, but I was determined that I would start on Monday. I set my alarm for about 5:00, got up, had a huge breakfast (which I never do) and (this is something else you learn…) you go back to sleep for an hour or so. The first 2-3 days were difficult, but I resisted until sunset – I had a headache, but that was the worst part. By Thursday, though, I felt fine. Granted all of my friends at work would eat in front of me or ask if I’d like to go for lunch, but I managed. The first weekend came…tough when you are at home and there is a refrigerator full of food…, but I resisted. At the end of the second week, I had a breakdown – each day during the second week my friends would ask me to go to lunch and I would decline. Friday came along and I was famished, so when they asked, I said “yes”. Sorry to say that I ate on Saturday too, but on Sunday I was back on track. There was one other day – the final Sunday – when I had lunch. But regardless of “slipping” I was proud that I did this and my Turkish friends as well as a JCU colleague were also happy that I joined them. Tonight (Sept. 20), the first day of a 3-day celebration, my friends will come over for dessert.
This is one of the many things that I learned about Ramadan. Yes, you fast, but there are many celebrations. At the end of the day, you have dinner (usually a large one) and frequently you do it in company. Not being Muslim, I did not really partake in these mini-festivals, but we ate over at our friends’ house one evening. It is very common for Muslims to eat over at each other’s home during the month – some people even form a kind of dinner circuit – rotating amongst the houses of family and friends. The final festival (eid mubarak in Arabic or Ramadan bayram in Turkish), beginning today also involves being with your family and friends. Apart from a dessert-time visit tonight, I will not really “celebrate” the bayram. There is a real sense of Community and sharing the experience is very important.
The idea of fasting for a month, and this specific month, is for various reasons. Muslims are extremely generous and one aspect of the religion is charity. Muslims are expected to give a certain part of their earnings to less fortunate people (on average about 2.5% of their earnings). There is great sensitivity toward people who are less fortunate. In this regard, fasting during Ramadan is about empathizing with less fortunate people who are not able to eat whenever they are hungry, but who might eat, at best once per day. Another aspect of fasting is about self-control and self-discipline. It is difficult to control basic bodily needs such as the call of your stomach, but in the end you learn that if you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you want. Naturally, there are more direct religious concepts too – by applying self-control and self-discipline, Muslims pay homage to God; fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Another reason for fasting during this month involves Muhammad. The Prophet fasted during Ramadan and at the end of the month had his first revelation (i.e., God spoke to him or through him for the first time and he began composing the Qur’an).
Many non-Muslim friends have asked me why I decided to do this. There are many reasons, but the main one is “just because”… Apart from fasting and celebrating, Ramadan is also a time to reflect and to learn…about ourselves, each other, the world… I may not have been fully enlightened, but I learned a lot this month…
