From Wiki: Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) (also Ramazan) During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking starting from dawn till dusk. To prepare for the fasting, Muslims wake up before dawn and the fajr prayer to eat a meal (Sahoor). Muslims break their fast at Maghrib (at sunset) prayer time with a meal called Iftar. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set until the next morning's fajr prayer call. Ramadan is a time of reflecting , believing and worshiping God. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual activities during fasting hours are also forbidden.Purity of both thoughts and actions is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised awareness of closeness to God.
What does that mean for us guys and gals in Afghanistan? A long month where the Afghan pace gets slower and folks are a little tired and cranky. I'm not making light of it. It's not unlike our tradition of fasting for Lent leading up to Easter. The big difference: We might give up coffee...th
ey give up everything! Even drinking water!! On the other hand, they only fast from sunrise to sunset. So, part of the reason they are tired is because they get up at 0400 to pray...and EAT!! Likewise, when the sun goes down, dinner is priority one!
Still, all in all, their sacrifice and devotion to God (while misguided in my opinion) is inspiring.
Having said that, I respect these people deeply and have many close Afghan friends because of this tour. Gonna keep my eyes open and see what else I can learn. For the record, the girl on the left is not observing Ramadan. My friend on the right is! : )
Muscle -- I'm enjoying your blog! Keep up the good work and come home safely. This post reminds me of my visit to Dubai years ago. My mom was shocked by a picture I sent back of me with two Muslim gents from whom I purchased some jewelry. They invited me (and two others) to their houses to visit with their families and have dinner with them. It was a gracious invitation and one that made me realize that there is a lot of hyperbole in the portrayal of all Muslims as "bad" when, in fact, most of them are a lot like us Christians. Though the faiths are oppositional in many ways, they are also complimentary. I commend you for finding the good where you are and seeking out the truth as you find it. Again, keep up the good work, my friend. God bless...
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Found your blog today Russell. I sit here and read these posts and they bring me as close to tears as one can get. Others might ask why? Russell you and so many thousands of others have left their homes, family and way of life to protect and serve while I sit here complaining about the most trivial things. My co-worker sees I am emotional and ask whats wrong. I tell him what I am reading and his comment is. "Yeah and we have so many people right here who don't deserve the air their breathing" God Bless to you Russell and all our troups.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your writings. I have had the chance to travel to a different country. You are making people aware through your writings that not all Muslim are bad people. I had very interesting conversation with a couple of them on a trip I took. We the people of the world need to be more understanding of other countries and their cultures. We are all Gods children. Stay safe my friend and God Bless you as well as all who have served and are serving our country. Hope to see you when you get home. Sincerely, Marcia
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the girl on the (L)! She looks like she's enjoying some Chick-Fil-A...and rightly so. She isn't in that country :)
ReplyDeleteLove the writings, Russell. Still think you should write that book you've been talking about for year.
I love you....