Download Cultural awareness: Ramadan 2015

Cultural awareness: Ramadan 2015
Ramadan is the name of the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, which is a lunar calendar, rather than a
solar calendar which we are all used to. Muslims living in the west use the Islamic calendar to mark special
religious days and festivals.
This year, Ramadan is expected to begin on June 18th and is expected to end on July 17th, when it is
immediately followed by the festival of Eid al-Fitr.
During Ramadan adult healthy Muslims abstain from food, drink (including water) and marital relations
during the daylight hours (pre-dawn to sunset) every day. Of course, Muslims can eat at night, so it is not
continuous fasting for 24 hours every day for the whole month!
Therefore during Ramadan, Muslim colleagues who are fasting will not take up offers of tea/coffee and may
decide to work through lunch and leave early or work flexibly/vary their hours if the nature of their job
allows. However, Muslims will not be offended if others eat or drink around them.
Ramadan moves forward by 11 days every year in the Gregorian calendar which means that it is not fixed
to a season, but moves from winter to summer and back over a 33-year cycle. This means that this year
the fasting hours in the UK will be the longest they have been for three decades and for most of those
fasting this year, the longest fasting days (18 hours) they will have experienced in their lives.
Fasting starts before dawn (currently about 2.55am) and most people will wake up in order to have their
pre-dawn meal which will have to last them for the whole day. The fast is then broken at sunset (currently
about 9.30pm) with a meal and many will spend the rest of the night praying special prayers in the Mosque
which end around midnight. Therefore, it may be worth noting that Muslim colleagues may be sleeping less
during this period due to late prayers and getting up early in the morning to take their pre-fast meal and
then trying to get a few more hours of sleep prior to starting work.
Those who are exempt from fasting, or have an excuse not to fast, as mentioned in the Qur’an (the Islamic
holy book) are: the sick, the elderly, those travelling and pregnant, breastfeeding or menstruating women.
They can be placed into one of two categories:
1. The permanently excused- they do not fast but instead feed a poor person for every day of
Ramadan.
2. The temporarily excused- they may choose not to fast but would make up the days when they are
able to.
The primary reason Muslims fast is because they believe it to be a command from God and it is also the
4th pillar of Islam. The 5 Pillars of Islam are: Belief, Prayer, Charity, Fasting and Pilgrimage.
Secondly the Qur’an states that fasting is prescribed in order for the believer to become God-conscious and
to come closer to God.
It is also a time when Muslims remember that there are people who fast involuntarily all over the world due
to famine and poverty and it is also a time when they realise they can control their desires and gain selfdiscipline and give up certain things. For example those wishing to quit smoking realise they can because
they are able to abstain from smoking during the day in Ramadan.
Muslims believe the Qur’an is the word of God and the last revealed Testament, sent down to the Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) via the Archangel Gabriel in this month (Ramadan) and they spend extra time reading
the Qur’an and trying to contemplate on its message during this month and praying for themselves, their
families and all of humanity.
The end of Ramadan is marked by the festival of Eid-Ul-Fitr (the first of the two Islamic ‘Eid’ Festivals).
Muslims will usually take the day off work or school (if ‘Eid happens to be in term time) to attend the
mosque for prayers and to celebrate the occasion with their family and friends.