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Its the first day of Ramadan what are your views on this holy month ?

of all the months, it is one

Well, good luck with the fasting to all who will go through with this.

only experienced Ramadan once and it was while i was heading to germany from the iran...

all the food places were closed and i had to wear long sleeves to hide my tattoos..

When I was a correctional officer for the state of Texas, if was infuriating, to me, at least, to have to accommodate all of the Muslim inmates so that they could eat after fasting throughout the day until sunset.

Still..........they are entitled to their beliefs. Who am I to judge them for such?

its a busy, busy, busy place in the middle east. airports are full and you can only get food inside the terminal... the outside places are usually closed due to culture and even certain laws that are religious based.


pretty cool i think minus the fanatical guys who think you are insulting them and what to kill you b/c you dont participate in it..

but when in rome...

Originally posted by King Castle
its a busy, busy, busy place in the middle east. airports are full and you can only get food inside the terminal... the outside places are usually closed due to culture and even certain laws that are religious based.

Really? They don't even serve tourists during the day?

inside the airport they do.. not outside in the city.. and i couldnt even move the streets were crowded and me and my two friends were covered up like the locals while the security contractors escorted us inside the airport with machine guns..

but yeh, we were told during our cultural sensitivity class prior to us leaving with what to expect and they were werent kidding.. they told us the streets would be full of ppl and that food venders would be closed.. part out of fear if they dont follow the custom and tradition the night prior everyone loads up on food and whatnot..

it was like 5 yrs ago so my memory is really shotty.. but it was about 10pm and dark so not sure if they open up for actual foods at a particular time the following day... i really forgot the whole spill only mattered to me then not now.. my brain has a tendency to push it out.

anyways.. i was also in baharain during ramadan as a stop over.. i just remember eating "chicken" (air quotes) more like pigeons

Originally posted by Impediment
When I was a correctional officer for the state of Texas, if was infuriating, to me, at least, to have to accommodate all of the Muslim inmates so that they could eat after fasting throughout the day until sunset.

Still..........they are entitled to their beliefs. Who am I to judge them for such?

And most of them were just Jailhouse Muslims anyways. They convert to be accepted by the Black Power gangs, and then stop practicing once they get out.

I'm glad I'm not Muslim because I like to eat...lol. I do not fast, unless I'm broke.

I'm here in Dubai, so I know much about this Ramadan shit.
The fast breaks after 6pm... which means, you can eat all the food you want until daybreak.
All food stores are closed until then.

This fasting thing is more like self-starvation lol,

Originally posted by King Castle
inside the airport they do.. not outside in the city.. and i couldnt even move the streets were crowded and me and my two friends were covered up like the locals while the security contractors escorted us inside the airport with machine guns..

but yeh, we were told during our cultural sensitivity class prior to us leaving with what to expect and they were werent kidding.. they told us the streets would be full of ppl and that food venders would be closed.. part out of fear if they dont follow the custom and tradition the night prior everyone loads up on food and whatnot..

it was like 5 yrs ago so my memory is really shotty.. but it was about 10pm and dark so not sure if they open up for actual foods at a particular time the following day... i really forgot the whole spill only mattered to me then not now.. my brain has a tendency to push it out.

anyways.. i was also in baharain during ramadan as a stop over.. i just remember eating "chicken" (air quotes) more like pigeons
Don't know about the Middle East, but here the food shops remain closed during the day till like 2 hours before Iftar so everyone can buy things to break their fast.

And no. No one kills people for....not having a fast or not doing what every one else is doing or whatever you people think happens.

Originally posted by maham
Don't know about the Middle East, but here the food shops remain closed during the day till like 2 hours before Iftar so everyone can buy things to break their fast.

And no. No one kills people for....not having a fast or not doing what every one else is doing or whatever you people think happens. try being in the middle east during a war started by ur country and having to go through civilian areas to get to an airport.. plus having to hide your sleeve tattoos and told to grow scruff a few days prior to leaving your base.

believe me some middle east places are hard core they wont just target americans but their own ppl if they feel they bn offended some how

My roommate was a Muslim from Pakistan, when I went to school in the US. He observed Ramadan and was quite hungry when he got to eat at night. It didn't seem very fun. He did the praying east, though I don't think every time. He was quite liberal about it I think. Great guy.

we had one jewish/muslim kid in the marines that would stop whatever he was doing and start his prayers..

a lot of ppl felt uncomfortable with him and even tried to punish him for dereliction of duty.

when that failed they had him moved to another battalion.

then a month later then send him back...

he lived in my barracks i saw him every once in a while and heard kids talk sh#$ about him.. as an Nco i would have to correct them and tell them about respected other cultures...

i think i was the only Nco who was nice to him i even made it a point to remember his name at the time and room number.. when he came back i welcome him and acknowledged he had bn gone. even gave him back his old room with his old stuff still inside.. his roommate had bn sent to the brig so everything was the same..

Originally posted by King Castle
we had one jewish/muslim kid in the marines that would stop whatever he was doing and start his prayers..

a lot of ppl felt uncomfortable with him and even tried to punish him for dereliction of duty.

when that failed they had him moved to another battalion.

then a month later then send him back...

he lived in my barracks i saw him every once in a while and heard kids talk sh#$ about him.. as an Nco i would have to correct them and tell them about respected other cultures...

i think i was the only Nco who was nice to him i even made it a point to remember his name at the time and room number.. when he came back i welcome him and acknowledged he had bn gone. even gave him back his old room with his old stuff still inside.. his roommate had bn sent to the brig so everything was the same..

He was one of them famous Jewish/Muslim hybrids? I hear they have special powers.

well he stopped to pray and look at whatever direction they look at and he would mumble and pray.. he wear the jewish circle thing on his head and had his pockets braided..

plus he spoke certain middle eastern language aside from english and jewish that he was allowed to try out for the translator program..

Originally posted by King Castle
try being in the middle east during a war started by ur country and having to go through civilian areas to get to an airport.. plus having to hide your sleeve tattoos and told to grow scruff a few days prior to leaving your base.

believe me some middle east places are hard core they wont just target americans but their own ppl if they feel they bn offended some how I assure you, nobody is gonna harm you for not fasting, dont even know where you get that idea from. I've been in middle east during ramadan several times. And ive been told(if possible) to not eat/drink outside but ONLY because it might be hard for some poeple to fast whle someone's drinking next to them(especially if you're say a taxi driver and work all day) But noone's gonna try to kill you. Some caffees and restaurants stay open even for non-muslims.

I like it. It's nice that people are actually dedicated to their religion. I find people who are religious in name only ('sunday christians') to be the worst.

Originally posted by King Kandy
I like it. It's nice that people are actually dedicated to their religion. I find people who are religious in name only ('sunday christians') to be the worst.

But you're an Atheist, aren't you? So why do you like (or even care for that matter) that people are dedicated to a given religion?

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
But you're an Atheist, aren't you? So why do you like (or even care for that matter) that people are dedicated to a given religion?
It's a pet peeve when people try to convert me to religions they don't even follow themselves.

Originally posted by King Kandy
It's a pet peeve when people try to convert me to religions they don't even follow themselves.

So if they DID follow the relgion, then it wouldn't be a pet peeve? It wouldn't annoy you?

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
So if they DID follow the relgion, then it wouldn't be a pet peeve? It wouldn't annoy you?
It would be annoying, but less so.

Originally posted by King Kandy
I like it. It's nice that people are actually dedicated to their religion. I find people who are religious in name only ('sunday christians') to be the worst.

Interesting. And how would you decide who follows their religion and to what degree and what makes you in the slightest qualified to decide that? Would smiting your neighbur who works on Sabbath be dedication to ones religion, and therefore less annoying than a 'sunday Christian'?

I hope you release that Ramadan is a family holiday and that the only time , esepcially westernized muslims, are actually muslims is on Ramadan, since grandmothers and mothers and aunts and whatnot gather in the evening at someone's house with tons of food and a small party insues?

argh!

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
Interesting. And how would you decide who follows their religion and to what degree and what makes you in the slightest qualified to decide that? Would smiting your neighbur who works on Sabbath be dedication to ones religion, and therefore less annoying than a 'sunday Christian'?

I hope you release that Ramadan is a family holiday and that the only time , esepcially westernized muslims, are actually muslims is on Ramadan, since grandmothers and mothers and aunts and whatnot gather in the evening at someone's house with tons of food and a small party insues?
Cool, now how about you stop trying to put me through a logic gauntlet about something that's just my gut response.

Originally posted by King Kandy
Cool, now how about you stop trying to put me through a logic gauntlet about something that's just my gut response.

Sorry, but your knee jerk Christian bashing seems displaced in Ramadan thread.
Especially the irony of ''occasional' worshippers.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
Sorry, but your knee jerk Christian bashing seems displaced in Ramadan thread.
Especially the irony of ''occasional' worshippers.
If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way about reform jews.

Originally posted by King Kandy
If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way about reform jews.

Hmm, not really. How about Muslims or Hindus or worse yet, Buddhists.

Buddhism <3

I'm not educated enough on those religions to understand what constitutes rigorous devotion.

Then be prepared for Scientology conversion. The only true religion this planet has ever known.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness

I hope you release that Ramadan is a family holiday and that the only time , esepcially westernized muslims, are actually muslims is on Ramadan, since grandmothers and mothers and aunts and whatnot gather in the evening at someone's house with tons of food and a small party insues?

That's a good point. When my son was an undergrad, he told me that the Saudis he knew at his school never prayed 5 times a day, and partied and drank like any all-American college kid. But when Ramadan rolled along they all suddenly acted like holier-than-thou Imams and actually became personally insulted if anyone invtited them to a party.

I find it really odd that they close food venues outside. From my experience, in Ramadan you're meant to continue your day as normal going to work etc...

Are you sure the food joints don't close because it's probably not worth their while to run the place because majority of people in the country would be fasting and it'd be cheaper to remain closed rather then paying for labour, water and electricity?

I know for a fact that the majority of those who fast and live in places with a mixed population remain open because that is part of fasting and two it's worth their while.

Originally posted by King Castle

pretty cool i think minus the fanatical guys who think you are insulting them and what to kill you b/c you dont participate in it..



Someone actually told you that? Because that would mean they broke their fast lol. You're not only supposed to fast from hunger, you're supposed to keep your emotions and temper in check, the hunger makes it harder to do so but that's one of the points of fasting. Patience and tolerance.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u55/WatchOut_02/normal_Despair_-_Muslim_Drivers.jpg

I lol'd.

I really have no idea why it is celebrated or anything about it.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
Interesting. And how would you decide who follows their religion and to what degree and what makes you in the slightest qualified to decide that? Would smiting your neighbur who works on Sabbath be dedication to ones religion, and therefore less annoying than a 'sunday Christian'?

I hope you release that Ramadan is a family holiday and that the only time , esepcially westernized muslims, are actually muslims is on Ramadan, since grandmothers and mothers and aunts and whatnot gather in the evening at someone's house with tons of food and a small party insues?

Fasting the month of Ramadan is actually a very religious event and is mandatory upon every Muslim to do so, with a few health related restrictions.