Ramadan is nearly upon us. As this story notes, aside from confronting daily violence, Muslims across the world are broke and will have a hard time with escalating food prices. How exactly that relates to Ramadan, not sure. If anything, now that Muslims will be eating at least fewer total meals, one would assume they would also be eating less food: so how is the "dramatic rise" in food prices some new factor for Ramadan?
Here's an interesting tidbit indicating the militant origins of Ramadan. According to Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet, ancient, primitive man ate hardly anything in the daylight: he was busy hunting and warring. Then, in the evening, the tribe would get together and feast, sometimes to the point of gorging. This is reminiscent of Ramadan, indicating that even Islam's holy month may have roots in militant dietary habits. Hofmekler himself points out Ramadan as an example. Of course, that he is Jewish and a former member of Israeli Special Forces will only lead to more "conspiracy theories."
At any rate, make sure you too abstain from food and drink in the presence of pious, fasting Muslims, so as to support, not offend, them. "Muslims prepare for Ramadan as costs rise," from AFP, August 31:
KARACHI (AFP) — Muslims across the world are preparing for the holy month of Ramadan, which will this year take place amid sharp hikes in food prices and in many countries an ever present fear of violence.Even over Ramadan, "divisions" exist among Islamic nations.The start of Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month in the Muslim calendar, is traditionally determined by the sighting of a new moon, which often divides Islamic nations over exactly when to begin the festival.
For the month, followers are required to abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to dusk. Activity peaks between "iftar", the breaking of the fast at sunset, and "suhur", the last meal of the day before sunrise."Warrior-Diet."
Daily life slows down with many businesses closing early in deference to a religious event which nevertheless could be marred by extremists.In Pakistan, thousands of police equipped with metal detectors will be deployed outside mosques in cities and large towns to foil any attack as places of worship are crowded during Ramadan, expected to start here Tuesday.
The country is in the grip of a wave of militant bombings and suicide attacks that have seen nearly 1,200 of its citizens killed in the past year in a backlash against Islamabad's pivotal role in the US-led "war on terror".[...]
Afghanistan faces much the same problems as its South Asian neighbour.
Police have "special security" in place, deputy interior minister Munir Mangal told AFP, promising "staunch steps" and calling for peace over Ramadan.
Prices of some foods, including the staple wheat, are said to have doubled in parts of Afghanistan over the past year.[...]
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, prices for essentials such as eggs, meat and cooking oil have surged by as much as 25 percent in one week as the faithful stock up.
In Baghdad, Iraqi security forces have yet to announce any specific measures for Ramadan, but men, women and children have been spending many hours shopping in markets amid an overall fall in violence, currently at a four-year low.
And in the Gaza Strip weary residents will celebrate their second Ramadan since the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in June 2007 under a strict Israeli blockade that continues despite a fragile two-month truce.
Saudi Arabia, which applies a rigorous doctrine of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, is also gearing up for the festival. It is extremely strict in applying a ban on eating, drinking and smoking in public during daylight hours. Expatriates risk deportation if they are caught violating the rules.
In the Somali capital Mogadishu, where people face daily violence, self-imposed curfews, prolonged droughts and economic woes, the situation is grim. Many people have been unable to go out or buy the foods normally eaten when breaking the fast.
In the Philippines, where government troops have been engaged in heavy fighting against Muslim rebels in the south, commanders will make "tactical adjustments" because of Ramadan, an official said Sunday.
Yeah right, sure. Uh-huh. There ought to be a special word for Muslim 'logic.'
"Let there be no compulsion in religion, but if you eat or drink during OUR fast, you're outta here!"
My brain hurts...
Down here, in the land between Gustav and Hanna, it is considered propitious on New Years Day (by some) to dine on ham and blackeyed peas.
Can we make that a national custom, and apply the same caveat to our Muslim friends and neighbors?
It's as someone else here observed, several weeks ago--they're all holy about skipping lunch!
As for food prices, let 'em eat oil.
I will smoke some pork ribs for ramadonn. (of course with the utmost respect) I mean if John the Baptist ate Locusts and Honey so as not to offend people it's the least I can do, especially since I dont have a fresh supply of locusts handy.
Is there a Java counter to display how many more shopping days till Ramadan are left?
They call that 'fasting'? Gandhi fasted. Almost died.
It's possible to overdo fasting, but muslims under do it. Missing lunch is not fasting. To get any benefit from fasting, other than imaginary, you have to abstain from food for at least three days.
During those three days, you will come to understand the word 'craving'.
If you can make it past three days the craving stops.
Some fasters make it through those three days easily, for others it takes huge amounts of self discipline to stay away from the refrigerator.
For fasting muslims, the refrigerator opens at sunset. That's more like fast food, than fasting...
As for food prices, let 'em eat oil.
With a side of sand!
I get very happy when I see that rising food prices are causing suffering in Muslim countries. As the old saying goes, "Squeeze the pips until they squeak". Maybe someone can write a how-to book "Jihad on 1,000 calories a day".
Could the high food prices and persistent violence in Islamic lands have anything to do with Islam? Just wondering.
Sorry, no link, but I read a while back that more food is bought during Ramadan - the month of war - than in other 11 months of the year put together.
And it's a strange fast indeed where you actually put on weight.
Muslims are free to call it fasting. I call it a late supper.
Isn't all that food right before bedtime bad for the body? The good of the body is all. You will know the joy of Lan..., oops, the joy of Allah.
Was the Star Trek episode: Return of the Archons at all influenced by Islam? Landru sounds an awful lot like Allah, retaining creativity for himself; keeping the people on a leash one minute and then setting them free for mayhem the next.
Not entirely OT: does anyone know if any university food services offer special early breakfast hours and late supper hours during Ramadan? In my long-gone college days, breakfast was strictly 7:00 to 8:15, and supper 5:00 to 6:15. Have any Moslem Students Associations requested special hours? Or maybe Moslem students can take their meals at the MSA center instead of the dorm cafeteria? Have any MSA's asked for a discount on their food-service bill for Ramadan since they'll be skipping lunch?
ebonystone,
We never got discounts for missing a meal. If you weren't there, for any reason, that was your problem. The university provided the meals. Eating was your responsibility.
AFAIK, Ramadan makes people fat. Starvation and lack of energy during the day, rabid hunger at the end of the day, indulgence in sweets and fats before sleeping.
It is quite normal to gain a kilo or two from this mock 'fasting'.
From the article:" In the Philippines, where government troops have been engaged in heavy fighting against Muslim rebels in the south, commanders will make "tactical adjustments" because of Ramadan, an official said Sunday."
Well: if *I* were a Filipino catholic or secular military commander who knew that at least some of my Muslim jihadist opponents - who fight dirty, dirty, dirty, and whose ultimate game plan is to take over and rob and ruin my entire country and reduce me and mine to dhimmi slaves - would for 30 days upcoming be spaced out/ glutted/ sleeping in a semi-daze all day and feasting and f****ing all night, with huge amounts of activity focused on the mosques, then I think I certainly *would* make 'tactical adjustments' to my campaign.
Need one say more?
Then, in the evening, the tribe would get together and feast, sometimes to the point of gorging. This is reminiscent of Ramadan, indicating that even Islam's holy month may have roots in militant dietary habits.
Oh I see. I thought Ramadan was like Christian (especially, Greek Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) and Jewish days of fasting.
So, were Moses and Jesus also on a "Warrior-Diet" when they fasted?
duh_swami: It's possible to overdo fasting, but muslims under do it. Missing lunch is not fasting. To get any benefit from fasting, other than imaginary, you have to abstain from food for at least three days.
So, I suppose by your standards the Jewish, Christian, Mormon, and Baha'i adherents are only deriving an "imaginary" benefit when they all fast for less than three days?
And what more benefits do these people derive from fasting than the people who "underdo" it?
Indeed Ramadan isn't fasting at all, its sanctioned gorging. No comparison with what some monks and nuns do in Christianity or even what some Buddhists and Hindus do as well.
And no you don't get any benefits From Ramadan either unless you like gaining weight and end up looking like the bloated Imans and Mullahs one sees on tv. A real fast takes at least 48-72 hours depending on ones physical condition and its tough.
Nor does it surprise me that Muslims continue to perpetuate the bullshit that Ramadan shows how close Islam is to Christianity.
Its not, its totally alien to Christianity and Judaism.
waltc,
Would you like to tell a Jewish person that he or she is not really fasting on Yom Kippur because his or her fast didn't last the supposedly mandatory 48-72 hours?
Its not, its totally alien to Christianity and Judaism.
Yea, it's not like Muslims are strict monotheists who believe in the same prophets and in similar Bible-inspired stories that the Jews and Christians believe in--oh wait...
Most Christians fail to realize that Judaism and Islam have more in common than Christianity and Judaism. (Yet that doesn't stop them from speaking of their "Judeo-Christian" values.)
Most Christians fail to realize that Judaism and Islam have more in common than Christianity and Judaism. (Yet that doesn't stop them from speaking of their "Judeo-Christian" values.)
Which once again reminds me of the best quote about Islam vis-a-vis Judaism and Christianity:
"What's true in Islam isn't new and what's new isn't true".
And Christianity and Judaism are linked inextricably through the Jewish identity of Jesus, however much that aspect of Christianity has been misunderstood through history. Islam and Judaism are linked through what? Oh, yeah, through empirically false claims that Judaism's message was originally Islam. Islam is to Judaism as a "Rolecks" watch sold on a street corner is to a real Rolex.
Islam is the world's most superfluous belief system and until it ceases to exist, there is no hope of continued social and material progress in this world, something Churchill knew when he called Mohammedism the "greatest retrograde force in the world". I know, Islam represented a "great leap forward" for 7th century Arabia (really, was that such a stretch, considering 7th century Arabia?), but that says nothing about its relevance to today, which is nil. The idea of a quarter of humanity running around arguing that God vouchsafed a revelation to a pedophile bandit is offensive to reason, except in some sort of nihilistic "the world is all a sick joke" type of reason.
Most Christians fail to realize that Judaism and Islam have more in common than Christianity and Judaism...
Similar except that islam is bull%^&$. *snicker*...
nabi ZK (pbum)
Muslims are strict monotheists who believe in the same prophets....
Horse pucky.
nabi ZK (pbum)
...yeah yeah and the God of Abraham had 3 daughters who were exalted intercessors...one was the earth and one was the planet Venus (cool huh?) and one was lady luck...yeah we're Abrahamic...He lived in the hijaz you know...
one was the earth...
Can you believe that the Red Sea was her menses? It's true I tell you. What...No wait...Strike that...No daughters. Repeat, emphatic, NO DAUGHTERS! The devil made me say that. And if anyone ever reminds anybody about this little foo pas then KILL THEM!!!!!
nabi ZK (pbum)
if anyone ever reminds anybody about this little foo pas then KILL THEM!!!!!
nabi ZK (pbum)
Posted by: zonie kafir at August 31, 2008 11:42 PM
You are too funny! Considering the morbid, hideous nature of the subject at hand, a good laugh always helps. There sure as hell isn't any humor in islam except when its profound asininity is exposed in stories like the old dude with 86 wives and 170 kids. Islamic family values are so admirable.
SPAM prices are still reasonable. It's free on the Internet if you don't have a spam blocker in your pc.
The way our US Congress ship's money over to the Muddle East. Let's all write our congressmen and women to suggest this. As another gesture of goodwill and our good intentions. Let's donate 10 giant container ship loads of Shoulder Pork & Ham!
MK
If I see any Muslims during Ramadan, I'll be deliberately eating and drinking in front of them.
To hell with being courteous. I'll be enforcing my right to eat and drink whatever the hell I like, whenever the hell I like - with or without Muslim approval.
Reason77, you mean stuff like 10 Commandments and the universal code is not common between us and Judaism?
Another rather significant difference is the rabid anti-Semitism in the Quran, completely on par with Mein Kampf. New Testament doesn't do that. Fortunately.
The Quran has some semblance to Jewish traditions for two reasons:
One: Muhammad plagiarized old Jewish folklore for his 'new' religion. He even, according to the Quran, paid the Jews to get access to their scripture. Unfortunately he was perpetually broke and got access only to the apocryphal tales of the Talmud, not the real stuff of the Torah. That caused him a problem he resolved through he frivolous claim that the Jewish and Christian scriptures are the ones that are corrupted, not his own.
Two: Islam laid claim to Jerusalem as their 'holy' city for all of the 7th century, as indicated by the mosque constructed in that period. They all have Quibla (prayer direction) towards Jerusalem - except, significantly, the one *in* Jerusalem, which as none.
Later the Quibla changed to Mecca, and when the Persians edited the final version of the Quran in Babylon, Jerusalem was kicked out and Mecca edited in, including a false statement by Muhammad that from now on prayer was to be directed towards Mecca. The archaeological evidence simply contradicts the scripture, and since books are easier to forge than buildings, I believe in the buildings.
Islam is primarily ancient Arab paganism, where also the vengeful moongod Allah comes from. It has but superficial semblance to Judaism and its benevolent God.
Islam is broken in every possible way. Coercion, not reason, is what keeps the system together.
Uh, I meant "universal moral code" above.
Yes, I think I'll walk the local ghetto eating something. Preferably pork :)
Mohammed directed the prayers toward Jerusalem in his effort to win over the Jewish tribes. Only after they turned him down was Jerusalem replaced by Mecca. This was in his lifetime.
Yeah, I never understood until last year when I actually saw some Muslims on Ramadan at my school why I had never in my life seen a Muslim who wasn't overweight, which is particularly strange in light of the fact that most Indians are quite slim, but their Paki brethren, who are racially identical are, uh, not. Most of them skipped classes all month so they could sleep all day, but I had one class from 5:45 to 8:30 and they would stuff their faces from the break around 6:45 until the end. They would also, of course, ask endless retarded questions, punctuating the 10-second pauses between syllables with goat-bleating noises, as Arabic speakers tend to do, all the while talking with their mouths full. They sounded like a herd of cattle grazing. I guess Muslim Arabs have no table manners, although this has never been my experience with Maronites, who are incredibly polite, if boisterous (which is cool with me because I'm Italian and Jewish).
I plan to eat all through every class while wearing my 'Everyone whose prophet had sex with a 9-year-old raise your Koran' shirt, my 'Up yours religion of peace' Rosie the Riveter shirt, my 'Thanks, Denmark for showing us the true nature of the religion of peace' shirt, my 'Islam is as Islam does' shirt, my 'Please do Daddy! Knock their block off! Uneducated, genitally mutilated burqaed dhimmitude is no life for a nice American girl' shirt, and my 'Thanks President Bush! I'm educated and can enjoy sex' shirt. And if they harass me I'll remind them they are only to fight when the holy months are past, and that that either must be a mistranslation, huh, which really means kill when the holy months are past, or that they are typical Muslm hypocrites.
I will also remind them that in The Cattle (6:68) it says "And when thou seest those who meddle with our revelations, withdraw from them until they meddle with another topic" which will of course happen as soon as there are no more Muslims, however that may happen.
And you know I'll be drinking to Ramadan all month long.
PMK, I know the scripture says so. I do not trust the scripture on this subject, nor on others. I believe - and there's much evidence for this - that the Quran was heavily edited after the life of Muhammad, to fit the purposes of the incumbent rulers and justify their rule.
The archaeological evidence tells an entirely different story about the Quibla. I trust that.
They raise the price of oil, they starve on Ramadan.