[Closed] Ramadan Mubarak

Nice dress

No snickers 😯

😆

enfht - Member
Sadly no trolling here. Christians posting on stw are regularly torn a new bumhole for their efforts so am intrigued with this thread and one possible reason is the elephant in the room which is sadly the reality.

the reality is you are wrong.....

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/merry-christmas-2015

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/to-all-at-singletrack-towers

Yeah but all that cordiality extended to Christians at Christmas was probably due to [i]"fear of violence".[/i]

I actually get angry when I'm hungry.... almost irrational ??

I've learnt to recognise this and to EAT something quick.

Not sure how I'd cope fasting all day.

Do you get used to it?

And do you go straight in.... ie its almost like cold turkey... or do you "train" in the weeks leading up, having the odd day fasting here or there to try and get used to it?

i do get cranky when i'm hungry but i've learn to control it to a certain extent
mind over matter...but i have good days and bad days
no training or preparation is done leading up to it...just straight into it and try and hit the ground running

i'm 39 now...and i was first allowed to fast when i was 9/10 years old....so my mind and body are used to it and i find i can easily switch into ramadan mode
my oldest son is nearly 8 but he's already kept one full days fast last year and a few half days. this year he will do a few half days and we may allow him to do a full day but we will play it by ear

for me the lack of food or water isnt a problem...its the disruption to my sleep pattern

usually i sleep from 11pm to 6am so i get a solid 7 hours but during ramadan i will break my fast at around 9.30pm which is then followed by the evening prayer. after this at around 11.30pm there is another prayer (taraweeh) which takes longer. if its done at the mosque its usual for the imam to recite 1 chapter of the Quran during each evenings prayer so all 30 get recited throughout the month. by 12.30am i'm pretty much ready to sleep but i need to get up again at around 1.30am to prepare the final meal before the next days fast starts...so i usually make a judgement call on whether i sleep or stay awake. if i sleep then i run the risk of sleeping through and missing the final meal slot so i end up fasting without eating a final meal
usually i stay awake and after the final meal is finished and the morning prayer is done it is 3am so i go to sleep to wake up again at 6/7am
so during the week i'm running off 3/4 hours sleep. both me and the wife try to catch up on this by getting 1 hour naps in the evening after work or at the weekends when we try to give ourselves a lie-in but with 3 kids its hard to do that so we take it in turns. she'll have saturday as a lie-in and i'll sort the kids out and on sunday its my day for a lie-in

im not saying its completely easy because it isnt but to me...its worth it.
the sense of accomplishment you feel as each of the 30 fasts are done is amazing.
the taste of a cold glass of water after a day of fasting is something to relish...it makes you appreciate some of the things that we take for granted

Hora - you'll find this very interesting
http://gu.com/p/4kgfb/sfb

I was thinking about this in relation to exams. What do young Muslims do when Ramadan coincides with gcse or a-levels like they do this year? Do the put it off until a later date?

One of my maths evening class students was unusually bad with simple mental maths on Monday evening (she's usually better than me). She apologised and said it was because she was fasting.

Her second maths exam is on Thursday morning so I'm hoping that the earlier time will help, or that she allows herself a normal breakfast that day and makes it up later.

Why make 8.5% of your life more difficult than it needs be?
All the best 🙂

Why make 8.5% of your life more difficult than it needs be?

8.5% isnt actually that steep, if you really want a tough climb try 20%+.

Or you could just sit on the sofa and do nothing, would make your life easier.

Exams: there was a proposal / discussion recently about moving exam times for everyone to avoid Ramadan, it was not taken forward. One issue is that Ramadan moves around quite a bit from year to year with respect to our calendar.

I wonder what percentage of Muslims in the UK observe the fast and to what degree ?

with regards to exams...Jambalaya is pretty much spot on. just to give you an example of how the lunar calendar has moved over the years...my eldest son will be 9 in september...he was born in the middle of Ramadan.

I wonder what percentage of Muslims in the UK observe the fast and to what degree ?

there'll always be a small minority who dont fast or choose not to for whatever reason, as there will also be that small percentage who sneakily cheat...they'll tell people that they're fasting but really they'll disappear off for a sneaky snack/drink/fag etc.
i had a friend who used to do that a lot

but it would also be interesting to see how many Christians observe Lent and how many of the Jewish faith observe Yom Kipur.
seeing the 3 faiths side by side for a comparison would make for some interesting reading

seeing the 3 faiths side by side for a comparison would make for some interesting reading

I suspect knowing the answer there would be worse than not knowing!

Day 2 report:
went better than day 1...but still trying ot catch up on the sleep and stay alert during the day. i didnt feel hungry either
the number of times i had to stop myself from falling asleep at my desk was unbelievable.
journey home on the bus was pretty quick
managed to get a 1 hour kip before sunset and managed to get another 1 hour kip before sunrise. but that went out of the window when te youngest woke up and refused to go back to sleep...he finally knocked off and 4.30am.

so i still have a sleep deficit... 😯

Cheers Gonzy, his poetry his stunningly beautiful

day 3 report:

still struggling with the sleep deficit. feeling drowsy at work but slowly my body is starting to adapt.
i dont even feel hungry during the day. having said that we're being careful at home as to how much food we make. in the past our eyes have been bigger than our bellies and food has gone to waste...but now where making just about enough for us to eat and feel full...however we've not really been eating healthily yet so a lot of the food has been fatty kebabs and samosas.

i was going to weigh myself just on the night before ramadan started but i never got round to it but last week i weighed in at 69kg/152lb...i reckon i'm at least a couple of lb/kg over that already

something for you to all chuckle at...i got on the bus yesterday to go home...it was quite humid and warm and i was quite drowsy so naturally i nodded off with the headphones on.
what should have been a 7 mile 1 hour bus ride...ended up being a 21 mile bus ride lasting 2.5 hours....the wife was pissing her sides laughing when i phoned her to tell her what happened...so much for getting sympathy off her 😯

Do you get paid a lower rate during Ramadan as you are clearly not working at normal capacity?

I would think observance of Ramadan is way above Christians following the whole of lent. Even when I was a regular Church goer onservance was so-so and the commitment required of "giving up something" is much less. For Yom Kippur its only a day so again not nearly as tough.

what should have been a 7 mile 1 hour bus ride...ended up being a 21 mile bus ride lasting 2.5

Do you get paid a lower rate during Ramadan as you are clearly not working at normal capacity?

no i dont get paid at a lower rate. my manager is ok with it seeing as most weeks i bust a gut at work puling off miracles. plus i was owed 3 hours of TOIL which i've waived as a gesture of goodwill so he's ok with me slacking off a bit...but i'm back to full capacity today

Ouch

i got a 1.5 hour kip on the bus so i'll take it as a blessing in disguise...i'd struggle to get that at home with the kids wreaking havoc

So to beat my Hangry demons and to show a little support to our OP... I'm going to give fasting a go.

Nothing compared to Gonzy's great commitment but for a day next week nothing will pass my lips during Mecca's daylight hours.

If that goes well, I give a full day a go

Anyone else fancy giving it try ?

So to beat my Hangry demons and to show a little, and I do mean little, support to our OP

I'm going to give fasting a go....

Nothing compared to Gonzy's great commitment but for a day next week nothing will pass my lips during Mecca's daylight hours.

If that goes well, I give a full day a go

Any one else fancy giving it try ?

wow...that would be awesome!!
right at the beginning of this thread i mentioned that i would have a Ramadan challenge to everyone...and this was going to be it.

so here it is...my challenge to you is to simply fast for one day...
lets be specific and say fast on Monday (the reason for this is that those who do take part will be at work...focussing on the job should hopefully help pass some of the time and remove some of the distraction of thirst and hunger)

you dont have to do it for religious reason like me...just do it to see if you can do it. maybe even start with the intention and see how long you can last...can you do a full day or do you need to concede early on? see if you can challenge yourself and show self discipline and resist temptation...i'm pretty sure most of you have it in you to be able to do this.
as much as it is physical stress you will be putting yourself through there is also the mental/emotional stress you put yourself through but if you can do this then you can do anything

think about it...no food or water for roughly 19.5 hours (that also includes no smoking and no "how yer father")...you cant swallow your own saliva either...basically no food or water shall pass your lips and enter your body...one hell of a challenge yeah...but achievable with the right amount of focus and determination

i'll tell you something else...we live in a society where we can have anything we want...all the creature comforts and material needs we could wish for
but other parts of the world and in fact within sertain aspects of our own society there are those who dont have what we have
there are those who dont have a roof over their head, clean clothes on their backs, food on the table
some of them dont have clean running water and dont know when their next meal will come...to them food and water is a massive luxury...whereas we take it for granted...so go on fast for a day and step into the shoes of the less fortunate and feel their pain and suffering...you choose to do it for one day...but many of those less well off than us dont get to choose this way of life

after your fast is over...take out a cold bottle of water and have a drink...see how it tastes
take out that lovely hot meal you've prepared and tuck in and again see how good it tastes
then have a think about how we sometimes dont appreciate the things we take for granted that others would die for

just one day...thats all you need to do...it'll be a challenge but it'll be worth it...even if its to say you did it in one of the toughest months

a lot of people have wished me luck and have shown some mutual respect and admiration for what i'm doing...but i've had 30 years of experience and training....if you can fast for one day then to me...it would a greater achievement that me keeping one fast
i'd have nothing but respect and admiration for you for doing it

ll tell you something else...we live in a society where we can have anything we want...all the creature comforts and material needs we could wish for
but other parts of the world and in fact within sertain aspects of our own society there are those who dont have what we have

I'm of the opinion that not eating food when it's available is profoundly privileged. Not being able to eat for 15 hours makes you feel better about yourself but at the end of the day, comparing that to people actually starving is hilarious - they don't get to eat at the end of the day and they probably think that people who fast are bat shit insane as when they do get food, they pile on as many calories as possible.

Neither do I think that you should have to fast to be able to empathise with people who have no food, that should come naturally.

I also think that it's telling that possibly the most unequal countries in the world are those that observe fasting rituals, whilst secular western countries have some of the lowest rates of inequality.

observance of Ramadan is way above Christians following the whole of lent

This is likely very true, but there will be a number of reasons for it. The first is that you Latins have always bee much more lightweight with respect to your Lenten fasting rules than we *Greeks. 😉

*Not literal Greeks; just of the Eastern tradition.

Yep for ALL your reasons ... I'm in

This Monday from when I wake up to 4pm (Mecca sunset, taking into account time differences)

If I don't serious harm anyone then next Monday I'll go to 7pm (Mecca sunset local time)

Then then try and do the the full 19 hours the following Monday.

TurnerGuy - Member

Do you get paid a lower rate during Ramadan as you are clearly not working at normal capacity?

Did you post this at work? I did.

http://www.secularnewsnetwork.com/2011/04/european-christians-dont-want-government-to-reduce-income-inequality/

That’s where a new analysis by Daniel Stegmueller, a sociologist at Goethe University in Frankfurt Germany, and colleagues comes in. They looked at data from 16 Western European countries that took part in the European Social Survey in 2002-2006. One of the questions asked in the survey was the extent to which people agreed that “The government should take measures to reduce differences in income levels”.
People who said they had a religious affiliation (Catholic, Protestant, or’other’) were less likely to agree. That held even after adjusting for a wide range of other factors, like age, income, social class, employment status, children, and whether the respondent was on a temporary contract. They also adjusted for the political climate of the country (social democratic versus liberal, and social conservatism).
The interesting thing was that the difference between Catholics and Protestants was quite small, and much smaller than the difference between the religious and the non-religious. The effect is quite large – equivalent to five more years of education or increasing household income by €500/month.

😆

and

Indeed, Stegmeuller found that more religiously polarized countries (defined by the difference in religiosity of religious group members compared with non-members) had lower the support for social welfare.
So religious polarisation reduces support for social welfare. But the surprising thing was that it had no effect on the link between individual religious affiliation and rejection of governmental intervention to reduce inequality.
Even in the least religiously polarized countries, religious people are still just as opposed to the idea that the government should try to reduce inequality.

Confirms everything I needed to know about why people fast or go through with lent.....staves off the cognitive dissonance.

Tom_w1987

Just an observation, but I notice you post a lot of intolerant and judgemental stuff for someone preaching empathy

Ro5ey - Member

If that goes well, I give a full day a go

Anyone else fancy giving it try?

I've done seven days before, on a couple of occasions.
None of this half-arsed only eating at night cop-out though, seven whole days with no food and just a finger of water each day.

The hallucinations were incredible.

I'm of the opinion that not eating food when it's available is profoundly privileged. Not being able to eat for 15 hours makes you feel better about yourself but at the end of the day, comparing that to people actually starving is hilarious - they don't get to eat at the end of the day and they probably think that people who fast are bat shit insane as when they do get food, they pile on as many calories as possible.

oh...because you can emphasise with someone who is starving because you've gone a day without food or water and know how it feels? you're probably one of those who like telling people that they know what it feels like to starve because they've seen some poor starving person on tv once.
if you find it hilarious that someone should choose to fast for a day to help bring them more empathy then it to me it shows that you're too scared and weak to give it a go because you cant control your own gluttony

Neither do I think that you should have to fast to be able to empathise with people who have no food, that should come naturally.

and you've demonstrated on many other threads how little empathy you have of others especially with regards to the middle east...but then again i think you only had empathy for one side and it wasnt the ones who deserved it

I also think that it's telling that possibly the most unequal countries in the world are those that observe fasting rituals, whilst secular western countries have some of the lowest rates of inequality.

i think you'll also find that most of those countries have suffered at the hands of the very same secular western countries you mention...screwed over in more ways than one and then left to pick up the pieces...historically why do you think these western secular countries are doing so well for themselves and upon whose backs did they get elevated to this position of power/wealth/control?

historically why do you think these western secular countries are doing so well for themselves

The enlightenment? 😆

I mean, otherwise, the Ottomans, Mongols, the Empire of China etc etc etc ad nauseum would also be incredibly by rich now...or at least richer...from all that plundering.

But yes, wealthy countries like Saudi Arabia have been soooooooooo ****ed over by the west.

Tom_W1987 - Member

I'm of the opinion that not eating food when it's available is profoundly privileged. Not being able to eat for 15 hours makes you feel better about yourself but at the end of the day, comparing that to people actually starving is hilarious - they don't get to eat at the end of the day and they probably think that people who fast are bat shit insane as when they do get food, they pile on as many calories as possible.

Neither do I think that you should have to fast to be able to empathise with people who have no food, that should come naturally.

I also think that it's telling that possibly the most unequal countries in the world are those that observe fasting rituals, whilst secular western countries have some of the lowest rates of inequality.

Yeah but to be fair Tom you don't actually like Muslims, that's something which you have made very clear on this forum, so your opinion isn't exactly very surprising.

In contrast I am deeply impressed by how Muslims have the self-discipline to engage for a month in a very challenging act of self-denial. Specially when you consider how many people in our society are at the mercy of various forms of addiction.

I am sure that I would be a better person for it I could engage in similar acts of profound self-discipline and self-denial.

But then I don't have a problem with Muslims so my opinion isn't exactly very surprising either.

Uncle Tom_w1987 - fasting is one of the 5 pillars of islam as is charity. we are obliged to give 2.5% of our wealth/earnings to charity...this increases during Ramadan and is helped by the empathy felt for the poor through fasting.

here are some western secular media sources stating the impact of Ramadan on charitable giving:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/21/muslims-give-most_n_3630830.html

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/uk-muslims-expected-raise-100m-charity-during-ramadan/fundraising/article/1189642

Lots of people practice self discipline on a daily basis, in their own little ways - without ever preaching about it.

Uncle Tom_w1987 - fasting is one of the 5 pillars of islam as is charity. we are obliged to give 2.5% of our wealth/earnings to charity...this increases during Ramadan and is helped by the empathy felt for the poor through fasting.

here are some western secular media sources stating the impact of Ramadan on charitable giving:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/21/muslims-give-most_n_3630830.html

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/uk-muslims-expected-raise-100m-charity-during-ramadan/fundraising/article/1189642
/p>

I'm assuming those charitable donations include to their church, synagogue etc etc, most likely significantly changing where that charitable money ends up.

But then the same demographic is more likely to vote conservative.... 😀

Lets not even get into the hilarity of comparing polls done by different groups and using different methodologies.

Lots of people practice self discipline on a daily basis, in their own little ways - without ever preaching about it.

Well that's wonderful. So what's the problem? Apart from the fact that you don't like Muslims.

Trolls are greed so and so, aren't they? ... Always wanting the bigger Billy Goat

And our Troll doesn't believe in fasting.... there's a thing 😆

But .... we don't have to feed him.

Because....

tell you something else...we live in a society where we can have anything we want...all the creature comforts and material needs we could wish for
but other parts of the world and in fact within sertain aspects of our own society there are those who dont have what we have
there are those who dont have a roof over their head, clean clothes on their backs, food on the table
some of them dont have clean running water and dont know when their next meal will come...to them food and water is a massive luxury...whereas we take it for granted...so go on fast for a day and step into the shoes of the less fortunate and feel their pain and suffering...you choose to do it for one day...but many of those less well off than us dont get to choose this way of life

implies that you can't understand or empathise with people who are starving unless you step into their shoes and "fast".

Also Ernie, you're a traitor to your own marxist cause 😛

But yes, wealthy countries like Saudi Arabia have been soooooooooo **** over by the west.

you think they havent? just because they have the wealth and power? the west allows Saudi Arabia to do whatever it wants so long as it feeds the wests need for oil...only the royal family are in a position of comfort...what about those who suffer at their hands through their government policies?
you really dont have a clue do you?

I mean, otherwise, the Ottomans, Mongols, the Empire of China etc etc etc ad nauseum would also be incredibly by rich now...or at least richer...from all that plundering.

how much land the Ottomans, Mongols and Chinese etc plundered and subjugated to their command in comparison to say the modern French, Spanish and British empires?

how much land the Ottomans, Mongols and Chinese etc plundered and subjugated to their command in comparison to say the modern French, Spanish and British empires?

Oh so now it's just an issue of how much land we grabbed. That makes everything better.

What's the cut off point before land grabbing becomes unacceptable? 1/5th of the known world? Half of it?

Anyway

[img] [/img]

Pretty big wasn't it? Didn't do them a fat lot of good in the end.

you think they havent? just because they have the wealth and power? the west allows Saudi Arabia to do whatever it wants so long as it feeds the wests need for oil...only the royal family are in a position of comfort...what about those who suffer at their hands through their government policies?
you really dont have a clue do you?

And religion allows and is used to justify the ruling elites position and their treatment of everyone else within Saudi Arabia....but yeah, blame it on the outsiders!

Lets not even get into the hilarity of comparing polls done by different groups and using different methodologies.

yeah because only the zionist methodology matters doesnt it??

Trolls are greed so and so, aren't they? ... Always wanting the bigger Billy Goat

And our Troll doesn't believe in fasting.... there's a thing

But .... we don't have to feed him.

he's too mentally and physically weak to fast...and too gluttonous too

Pretty big wasn't it? Didn't do them a fat lot of good in the end.

no they should have been more ruthless like this lot
[img] [/img]

and we're off.

so here it is...my challenge to you is to simply fast for one day...
lets be specific and say fast on Monday (the reason for this is that those who do take part will be at work...focussing on the job should hopefully help pass some of the time and remove some of the distraction of thirst and hunger)

— I may regret this (or even simply completely forget - Twitter people remind me!) but I’m in…

Edit - so for me that means 0434 till 2134 - ouch! https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sunrise+sunset+13+june

Rachel

implies that you can't understand or empathise with people who are starving unless you step into their shoes and "fast".

Yeah well you are obviously very special Tom. You understand exactly one hundred percent what it's like to be starving. There's absolutely nothing that you could to give you a greater understanding.

However lesser mortals might struggle to have the same level of understanding which you so clearly possess.

And my respect for other people's cultures and religions is completely in keeping with my commitment to marxism. In the same tradition as working-class marxists such as James Larkin and James Connolly.