The Fellowship of Ramadan

By the Permission of Dear Panelist,my post doesnt have any correlation with Topic.Many Thanks.

Wiccan Sabbats;

-Samhain,Oct 31,Pagan New Year.
-Yule,Dec 21,Winter Soltice(Longest Night),Rebirth(Plagiarized from Sumerians) and Lesbien Festival.
-Bridgid,Feb.2,Purification.
-Eostara,Mar.21,Pagan Easter,Conception/New Sex with New Friends.
-Beltana,May.1,Orgy Party.
-Litha,Jun.21,Summer Solstice(Longest Day),Transition and Lesbien Festival.
-Lammas,Aug.1,Gratitude.
-Mabon,Sep.21,Pagan Thanksgiving.

All of your arguments about Ramadan can also be applied to the many pagan holidays.

Actually, adhering to a number of religions can result in almost a party a week. e.g.

The Wiccan party days for 2009:

Imbolc February 02, 2009(feast of the lactating sheep- goat milk all around with wool sweaters and lots of pole dancing?)

Ostara
March 20, 2009

Beltane
April 30, 2009 (party the night away with studs replacing those early fires?)

Celebrate the Wiccan holiday commemorating the union between God and Goddess. Historically on this day, Scottish Wiccans built two fires close together and drove cattle between them to ward off disease before the stock were put out to pasture.

Midsummer
June 21, 2009 (bikini party night on the beaches?

This Wiccan sabbat, which is held on the summer solstice, celebrates the peaking of the Sun God in his annual cycle.

Lughnasadh (major "pig out")
August 01, 2009

This Wiccan holiday marks the first harvest of the year and is one of the "Greater Sabbats" in the religion. Lughnasadh is also known as Lammas Eve, Lady Day Eve or Feast of Bread (yum, yum)

Mabon (another pig out)
September 22, 2009

This Wiccan holiday marks the fall harvest and the preparations for the coming of winter. Mabon is celebrated on the autumnal equinox.

October 31, 2009 (another pig out)

This Wiccan holiday is one of the Greater Sabbats, marking the end of summer and awaiting the Mother Goddess at Yule.

Yule December 21, 2009 (drinking and pigging out and all kinds of good parties going on)

(don't want to miss out on all that Christmas cheer and extended holiday period, now do we?)

Celebrated on the winter solstice, Yule is a Wiccan holiday marking the death of the Sun-God and his rebirth from the Earth Goddess. "

The feast of Sol and Victus (open unconquered Sun) on December 25th was celebrated with great joy, and eventually this date was taken over by the Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Christ."

Merry Yule to all and to all good night!!

Hmmm, "nadinebatra"?? That has the ring of a former probability wave. One does wonder if said wave is somehow connected to "hsnkhwj"? Ahhh, the oddity of quantum theory!!!!

All of your arguements about Ramadan can also be applied to the Christmas season.

"1. Encourages laziness. I know that productivity drops to its lowest levels during that month. That was the reason cited by the former president of Tunis in banning Ramadan fasting."

Do you work in an office? If so, you know how deserted it is between Thanksgiving and New Years. Especially that week between Christmas and New Years.

"2. It enhances hypocrisy. Many Muslim societies have special police units to enforce fasting with the threat of public caning."

Unlike people who won't shop at a store if their company policy is to wish someone "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". Or beat people over the head with "Jesus is the reason for the season" even though holidays on the Solstice preceed Christianity by tens of thousands of years, and Jesus was most likely born in the spring.

"3. It enables society as a whole to discriminate against non-Muslims and also against Muslims who for one reason or other opt against fasting."

Try being a non-Christian in December. Or, even if you are one, try being a diabetic.

"4. It teaches that if a person abstains from eating and other activities during the light hours ,he/she can resume his/her normal activities with gusto during the dark hours. It reinforces the Muslims’ Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personalities."

Granted, it's not the healthiest thing that one can do, but fasting is practiced by all world religions, not just Muslims. Christians do it, too. And our holiday pig-out of Easter is a response to the 40 days of Lenten fasting.

"5. This supposedly personal religious activity is enveloped in a country-fair atmosphere that strips it of any sense of spirituality."

Unlike, say Christmas.

'ISLAM IS OF THE DEVIL' SHIRT APPEARS AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Christopher Curry, Gainesville Sun, 8/24/09

A student at Talbot Elementary School wore a shirt bearing the message "Islam is of the devil" on the first day of school and was sent home for violation of the school district's dress code.

Asked about a report of the dress code violation, School District spokeswoman Jackie Johnson confirmed that a student did wear a shirt with the anti-Islam message and was sent to the school office until a parent could come. Johnson said the student's parent had the option of bringing another shirt for the child to change into or taking the child home and opted to take the child home.

The Dove World Outreach Center, a church in northwest Gainesville, began to draw protesters in July after posting a sign that read "Islam is of the devil" on its property. The Dove World Outreach Center is approximately one mile from the Talbot campus. School district officials would not comment on the identity of the student, or whether the child was a member of the Dove Outreach Center congregation, because of privacy issues

HSNKHWJ: YOU ARE CORRECT. THE ISLAMOPHOBES STING as THE ABOVE STORY ILLUSTRATES.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF FASTING AND GUIDE TO FASTING:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_078408.pdf

hsnkhwj, hsnkhwj, hsnkhwj,

Your "stings" are simple probability waves made up in the imagination of your mind along with about 25 others of similar ilk identified by using any wave detector. Your aim is to instigate or to obfuscate depending on the shape of the Moon.

CCNL, CCNL, CCNL.

IT IS IN THE NATURE OF WASPS TO STING!

Scorpions are the same way.

Nice music video by popular Muslim American rap group about Ramadan. Be sure to follow along with the lyrics!

http://www.nativedeen.com/ramadan/thevideo.php

Wow. Well, neither our family nor any other family I know observes Ramadhan as a nighttime party. I know it happens in some places but to suggest as some commenters have, that we should throw out the baby with the bathwater because there are some less-observant people or even hypocrites in the world, is excessive.

Here's the reality:

My husband: First off, he can't sleep because he has a job. Yeah, you know those? He's a teacher, and has to walk from class to class in 100 degree heat. Oh yeah, and the lawn needs to be mowed in that weather too. Can't stay up all night because he has to be at work he next morning. Sleep deprived because prayers at the mosque don't end until 11:30 and morning meal before sunrise is at 4:30.

Me: SAHM. Can't sleep all day because I have kids to take care of and teach. Dinner to cook, house to clean, etc. Baby takes a nap but older children do not. Breaking my fast makes me feel sick, I can't really eat much. Also sleep deprived because by the time I get the kids in bed, fasting has made me so exhausted I have to choose between eating more and crashing into bed to be up at 4:30 for the morning meal. Of course I can go back to bed afterwards, but only until the curious toddler wakes up and puts an end to my rest.

Yeah, so, uh, don't tell me I'm sleeping all day and partying all night.

All you doubters should try fasting yourselves. And if you did it with an open mind you would see that there is actually a reason-- a deep spiritual benefit to be obtained-- from the practice.

For example, even though I'm tired, since I didn't have to fuss with meals (except for the children) I had lots of time for extra prayers and readings today.

Hmmm, but is "hsnkhwj" a Muslim or a "probability wave" returning from "never-never" land??

hsnkhwj, hsnkhwj, hsnkhwj,

It is the reality of the flaws in the history and theology of Islam that you fail to grasp. Once you do, there will be no stings left to endure. Until then, stingers will continue to fly!!!

i'm generally pleased when ramadan arrives. it is time of year when the world is treated to a slight dip in religious homicide bombings.

To professional, "on wages", bloggers

You think your wisdom is bigger than the balls of a bull!
But the truth is that those balls are bigger than your tatered wisdom.

Have you ever seen an animal fasting?

The Islamophobes wasps (yellow bees) are again swarming on this blog in force. It is in the nature of these wasps to sting.

These Islamophobes want to decide how others should live, eat, drink or any other thing in life. They are "know it all" gang whose hate is beyond belief. Anytime there is the word, "Muslim" or "Islam", they swarm to sting.

**self-imposed hunger**

No,no.It's not hunger.

Food consume in Ramadan is increasing,not decreasing in muslim countries.
You are eating your meals from Sunset to Sunrise,instead of Sunrise to Sunset,namely,you reverse Night to Day/Day to Night.
Is it healthy not to drink water during hot long summer days from sunrise to sunset ?

Ms Taylor preaches:
"Ramadan's rituals, naturally, are not designed only to bring the community together, but also to foster discipline and compassion in the individual."

Below are some of the negative byproducts of Ramadan fasting.
1. Encourages laziness. I know that productivity drops to its lowest levels during that month. That was the reason cited by the former president of Tunis in banning Ramadan fasting.
2. It enhances hypocrisy. Many Muslim societies have special police units to enforce fasting with the threat of public caning.
3. It enables society as a whole to discriminate against non-Muslims and also against Muslims who for one reason or other opt against fasting.
4. It teaches that if a person abstains from eating and other activities during the light hours ,he/she can resume his/her normal activities with gusto during the dark hours. It reinforces the Muslims’ Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personalities.
5. This supposedly personal religious activity is enveloped in a country-fair atmosphere that strips it of any sense of spirituality.

slight typo in Hypoc's comment re the prayer: BEAT not bear.

No doubt the 3 middle eastern religions (Judaism, Christianity & Islam) bear similarities. However, Islam is the ONLY religion in the whole world that has a religious police and a state-sponsored apparatchik to control Muslims. If you dare to depart Islam, you risk punishment of death. If you drink alcohol, you'll be whipped. If you're a woman and you wear pants, you'll be lashed. In the non-democratic Islamic states, their citizens do not have the freedom to choose. BUT in democratic states like UK and USA, why are the elected politicians supporting the most extreme form of Islam to impose on Muslims living in these countries? E.g. UK councils imposing rules for swimming pools during Muslim hours - even in majority-Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, no such rules exist. USA is wasting money combating court cases where Muslims want to wear veils for driver's licenses - even in Muslim-majority countries, such "rights" do not exist. So people in the West, boot out those politicians who have decided to submit to Islam. Muslims living in democracies do not need these enablers to restrict their freedoms.

Discipline? Spirituality? Are you kidding? Have you ever lived in a Muslim country to see the reality of Ramadan "fasting?" And by lived I don't mean took a couple week tour, put on a tudung, and declared yourself a convert to Islam.

The reality is starve during the day then gorge uncontrollably at night. In my home, Kuala Lumpur, most Muslims gain weight during Ramadan as a result of the obscene nightly gorging. Arguments regularly erupt at the buka puasa buffets when inconsiderate patrons load up a plate with all of the tastiest deserts leaving none for the next diner.

Unfortunately, too much focus is on rituals like the once a year "Christmas Christians" who proudly declare they went to midnight mass so all know they are pious and spiritual. The worst? western converts to Islam who don a costume to show others they are pious and enlightened. Wow. You wear a tudung and pray 5 times a day - you must be sooooo pious and such a believer. Do you also study yoga? Wow.

Your focus on ritual (as evidenced by your prose and your Tudung) over theology is misguided and naive. The mid-day prayer broadcast on TV3 in Malaysia includes English subtitles; "...and if your wife disobeys, bear her, but lightly..." for those Muslims rusty in their Arabic.

Ramadan, as practiced by most, is a ritual with little spiritual thought. Focus less on rituals and more on the substance of the faith. Fasting is irrelevant, spiritual thought is.

"going without food or water during daylight hours"

this is just as insane as it sounds.

the writer claims STARVING YOURSELF is a good way to self-control. so is stabbing yourself with a knife.

RAMADAN IS UNNATURAL, UNHEALTHY, DYSFUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR.

islam is dangerous.

I have talked to many Muslims about Ramadan. The results-

The ideal:

"A blessed month has arrived. Observing it in fasting is mandated on you. During this month, the gates of Paradise will be opened and the gates of Hellfire will be closed. (Abu Hureirah)"

The reality:

Party/eat/drink all night and sleep(fast) the rest of the day.