Why is this month different from all other months?
I see that the world has spun ’round, and it is once more the month of Ramadan on the Arabian calendar. For the world’s aproximatly 1.5 billion Muslims, this is the holiest 30 day period of the year. Followers of that faith are supposed to set aside the daylight hours. Or, more precisely, they are supposed to go about their normal day to day lives– while not eating food, drinking water, smoking, having sex, or indulging in the joys flesh can bring.
There are a number of reasons Muslims are supposed to do this, each worth considering in it’s own right. There’s only one that I will focus on today. I was taught– and Wikipedia confirms– that when those who have much go without, it can bring them into sympathy with those who don’t have. In plainer language: If you’re “rich” enough to eat every day, starving yourself can help you understand the plight of those who don’t have the choice about starving. The month of Ramadan is used as a call to charity.
Charity is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. It sits there at the pulsing heart of the religion, like a text message from your mother. Of course, Islam is not the only religion that has a thing or two to say about charity. I believe Christians, too, are enjoined to do right by their fellow humans. As I understand it, there are a couple of Christians in the world.
The graph at that link shows that more than 1 in 2 people in this world is either Muslim or Christian. Given the 1000 years or so of disagreement those religions have had, I propose the following competition. For every meal that a follower of Islam skips, they should feed that meal to someone who doesn’t have the option. And for every meal that a follower of Islam skips, a Christian should also try and feed someone who otherwise would be hungry. Whichever religion feeds more people gets bragging rights. Until next Ramadan. When we’ll do the whole thing over again.
What’s that? You’re _not_ a follower of Islam? Have doubts about the existence of Jesus? Don’t believe in a particular or any god? If you can read this blog post, there is probably nothing keeping you from giving a powerbar to a homeless person. Let us be in solidarity with our faithful fellow humans while trying to beat them at the charity game.
No related posts.
Uh, at least in Morocco, the poor folks who can’t afford to eat STILL fast during the day through Ramadan. I used to ask my students why this was, and they had no idea, but admitted it was stupid. They also admitted not eating made them cranky and LESS likely to help anyone, rather than charitable.
And to bear that out, crime and violent confrontations, at least in Casablanca, are at their highest during the 30 days of Ramadan.
I totally like your competition. But while Christianity and Islam are SUPPOSED to be about charity, people are not so into that part. And I think also working for institutional change can be more effective (and harder and more time-consuming, sack up, people) than a powerbar to a homeless person.
My understanding is that you’re not supposed to fast if you’re already poor. Granted there’s an awful lot of room between what people are supposed to do, and the actual practice. Being a student of religion, rather than a practitioner, I get to talk about theory
And you’re totally right: if there’s an actual trade off between working for the poor, and giving them aid directly, making those institutional changes is much more effective. 30 powerbars are roughly $40, so I think the spirit of this competition would be totally validated by donating that much to people who advocate on behalf of the poor.