This week Muslims around the world began the month of Ramadan in which believers will go from sunrise to sunset without drinking any liquid or eating any food. This month is based upon a lunar calendar, so it moves forward roughly a week and a half each year. In the winter, the fast is much easier as the sun rises later and sets earlier. Obviously the summer is a lot more difficult, particularly in hotter areas such as Cairo or other desert cities.
One of my new friends here in my program at Georgetown is a half-Lebanese, half-Palestinian American guy. Strangely he also was born in Colorado, and went to college in Santa Barbara. He’s my brother from an Arab mother or something. Already in our short time knowing each other, we have had some cool theological discussions on Christianity, Islam, and spirituality in general. Since we spend a lot of our time together, and I don’t particularly want to be eating a huge burger and large soda in front of him every day at lunch (kind of like drinking a huge pint in front of an alcoholic), I suggested that I’d try and do some of the fast with him.
In the past I’ve tried fasting in various forms, often more in the Christian tradition of depriving yourself of food for x number of days. I’ve gained a lot from them spiritually, and I see no reason why I can’t grow spiritually as well by taking part in a Muslim spiritual tradition. I’m always drawn to people who are serious about their religion, and I hope I can make an impact on their spirituality, as they often have an effect on my own.
Well the fast started Thursday, and I made it the whole day without any liquid or food. Towards the afternoon however, I developed a terrible headache, no doubt due to a lack of my favorite drug, coffee, as well as not drinking water. The sun set around 7:20pm and we went to an Iftar, the meal breaking the fast celebrated by Muslims with family and friends in their community. It was my Muslim friend and many other Muslims, a Jewish friend from our program, and me, a Christian. Quite the eclectic monotheistic mix.
A Pakistani group sponsored the dinner, so there was a huge spread of delicious looking rice and chicken dishes. I grabbed a huge plate of food, and much to my horror, my headache at this point was so strong that it started making me nauseous, so nauseous, that I could only eat a few spoonfuls of food and nothing more.
I ended up going home soon after, and sleeping for close to ten hours. So this weekend, I’m going to try and wean myself off caffeine a bit, drink a lot of water, and hopefully start fresh again on Monday.
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