Happy Ramazan
… to all our Muslim readers, which starts from today. I’m drowning in work currently so it’s difficult to post new stuff. Feel free to use this thread as a mid-week open thread. Share your plans for the week or any other interesting bits of news/info.
| Post to del.icio.us |
Filed in: Blog
Happy Ramadhan to you all..I hope i’m able to practice what I preach and not munch my way through samosas every evening. Not that I can fast regularly as I have a long term medical condition. I remember when I was able to and it felt great. Anyway for anyone who is fasting there’s a DoH leaflet which is really good…also downloadable from here
http://www.communitiesinaction.org/
btw its Rosh Hashanah too…started last night…
Deeds not words please Sunny.
Enter the ballot, win and give me a Ahmet Ertegun tribute ticket and then I’ll have a Happy Ramzan
http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2168465,00.html
Each time I break my fast I pray like Aretha Franklin. And thus the Ahmet Ertegun-Ramadan link comes full circle!
I’ve met Roger Plant, gave him some Opal Fruits and chatted about Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nice one Sid. Scriti Politi won’t win you a ticket though!
(Its purely Pavlovian with me. My head says I front rowed Plant &Page in 95 together and was at Somerset House last year and off put by the others invited … but the rest of me wants a whole lot of tickets)
You got the Scritti link. Nice.
stomach churning…logic gates malfunctioning…system shutting down…going into hibernate mode…
Ramzan Mubarak to all our Muslim friends. Have a suitably spicy Mughlai dish on me.
Damn, I need to visit Lahore Karahi in Southall, haven’t been there for years.
LedZep, overrated.
Asif, if your wishes don’t come true, guess who’s on at the Albert Hall. We’re talking living legend:
http://tinyurl.com/2zsl2n
As an atheist, I can’t think of many good things to say about the culture of Islam. However I think a period of fasting, where the onus is on control of oneself, is a seemingly noble practice, so long as it’s not taken too seriously.
Though over here it’s good, and little bad can come of it, let’s spare a thought for those who will be punished for non-compliance with local religious law or custom.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4397478.stm
http://regimechangeiniran.com/2006/09/digging-graves-as-punishment-f/
j0nz
thanks sunny..however we Muslims look forward to a month of cranky Muslims every day around 6 pm with much foreboding
Ramzan Mubarak and Rosh Hashanah greetings to the readers and writers of PP
Jonz..ramadhan is not just about controlling oneself. It is about rethinking our priorities, about putting ourselves in other peoples’ shoes, about taking time to evaluate who we are and our relationship with God. The fasting bit is an outward manifestation of Ramadhan…there is a lot more to it..as a Muslim who can’t fast, i would be slightly left out if this is all Ramadhan was about. As for not taking it seriously, that would only be the case if a non muslim was discussing it. For many Muslims who CHOOSE to fast, it is a serious time, but also a time to change the things about our characters that we don’t like or that aren’t especially nice. For those Muslims who are forced to fast, this goes against in my opinion the ethos of freedom of choice in religion. Of course there will be people who say that if you call yourself a Muslim then you should practice as such…this I think again is a simplistic view and does not take into account peoples own internal struggle…
i would say jonz’s comment is a fair one, (as is yours too Sofia ) and i think what you are saying could be considered within the aspect of self-control – or self – regulation – it depends on what people mean by control. clearly isn’t about simply controlling ‘physical’ instincts is it, but a wider understanding of aspects of oneself, etc. ( as you point to)
( and conversely, one doesn’t need to actually forego water and food to engage in that kind of self-scrutiny and reflection. and which is why its interesting to observe when some people fast during the day, act like gluttons at night, end of ramadan comes, and boom!)
its fascinating to see the impact of ramadan on many people.
I do think that many ppl have their priorities all wrong with Ramadhan. They focus on the food aspect and forget certain things like if hunger is all they feel then they do not understand the meaning of what they are doing. If all you’re going to do is focus on not eating then you’ve completely missed the point. I can’t fast, but that does not mean that I can’t use this month as a way of reevaluating my life and changing things that I don’t like about myself. Yes i can do this at any point, but if as a Muslim I believe Ramadhan is special then this is the month to take advantage…
Thanks for the post Sunny. Ramadhan Mubarak to all. Now back to ignoring the munching noises of my fellow workers around me. Must focus internally, must get spiritual….
*Random slips into a trance…
and they say a sense of humour goes during Ramadhan
Please drink water
No God wants you ill
If you feel dehydrated you’re allowed to break your fast
i just found out yesterday that a lot of people think pregnant women should fast – i never heard that before. apparently if you’re a pregnant woman, you can not fast if you feel weak or feel it would harm your baby, but otherwise, you can. i.e. there’s no recommendation that pregnant women NOT fast. Seems a bit strange that people would think not eating or drinking during x amount of hours during the day is not going to have some effect on a growing foetus!
yes, we should have said Happy Rosh Hashanah too! good job you pointed it out Sofia
sonia – plz look at page 29 on the booklet link I gave in post 1. It’s the link to the organisation that worked on the booklet with the nhs. There is a section on pregnant women and fasting. It’s true that there is no specific ruling stopping women from fasting. Although it is recommended not to.
Further evidence that the Jewish PR machine continues to lick the Moslem one: Jonathan Ross last night wished Jewish viewers a Happy Rosh Hashanah but I didn’t hear any mention of Ramadan. And to think he grew up 9in Leyton. C’mon British moslems — get incolved in the light stuff. Have a word.
involved, involved, INVOLVED
involved, involved, INVOLVED (or you will burn in the eternal hellfire!)
Thanks Sunny and all the PP chaps, especially my friend Rumbold…who i see is now a ’staff’ writer if i could call him that.
I’m surprised there are still Muslims here at PP…well, that’s just me as a Muslim being paronoid!
The one thing about Ramadan is you actually realise just how much time we spend on either eating food, preparing food, or just plain thinking about food.
Saqib:
Good to hear from you again. I was wondering where you had got to. How is the dissertation going? You had not decided on a topic last time you wrote.
I am always unsure whether wishing someone ‘Happy Ramadan’ is the right thing to do, as Ramadan is more of a long-distance race than a celebration- perhaps the phrase ‘good luck’ would be more appropriate, thus saving the ‘happy’ for Eid.
Heh.
Rumbold
Likewise, good to see that you are on form.
Ramadan is like a race, and if i may piece together comments made in the earlier part of this thread, Ramadan is like a training programme similar to that of an athlete who wishes to reach peak performance through intense, hard training. Intensity is needed to reach that peak performance, by way of building up strength and stamina.
However, if that intensity becomes injurious, then at that point it stops…similarly the fast can be broken if it reaches this state. The old adage, no pain no gain holds true.
The dissertation will focus on John Locke and his social contract theory, which is in essence liberal theory of limited government…i have to extract here a specific question to address. Reading isn’t going great…too much work.
I am currently working full-time with Interpal as head of fundraising, this is quite intense at the moment as it is our most busy period as most donations come through this month.
Subsequently I don’t get time to blog now which is unfortunate, so i’ll probably come every now and again for a few salvos!
Saqib:
Sounnds like quite a tough job- don’t newspapers accuse Interpal of funding Hamas every five minutes, then have to retract these claims, then bring it up again? Interpal seemed to have been cleared hundreds of times.
You should try and blog as much as you can, because I (and many others) always enjoy reading your comments.
That sounds pretty daunting as well, as so much has been written on Locke already. I am not an expert on Locke, but I would recommend anything by Mark Goldie, who has worked extensively on Locke.
ramadhan mubarekJonz..ramadhan is not just about controlling oneself. It is about rethinking our priorities, about putting ourselves in other peoples’ shoes, about taking time to evaluate who we are and our relationship with God. The fasting bit is an outward manifestation of Ramadhan…there is a lot more to it..as a Muslim who can’t fast, i would be slightly left out if this is all Ramadhan was about. As for not taking it seriously, that would only be the case if a non muslim was discussing it. For many Muslims who CHOOSE to fast, it is a serious time, but also a time to change the things about our characters that we don’t like or that aren’t especially nice. For those Muslims who are forced to fast, this goes against in my opinion the ethos of freedom of choice in religion. Of course there will be people who say that if you call yourself a Muslim then you should practice as such…this I think again is a simplistic view and does not take into account peoples own internal struggle…