Tuesday June 7, 2016

I've Been Thinking:

Ramadan, the month-long fast in Islam, started yesterday.

Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. The objective of the fast is to gain introspection, self-improvement and atonement.

1.6 billion Muslims around the world are said to be fasting. That is over 22 % of the 7 billion people on earth. I'm not certain how many Muslims actually fast, but even if it is half that number, it is still a huge and significant number.

During Ramadan Muslims break their fast each night at sundown. As an aside, our English word breakfast originates because we break our fast every morning after not having eaten all night. Muslims break fast after not having eaten all day.

In the Koran the original Muslim fast was only one day long. It paralleled the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. But after the Jewish tribes of Arabia rejected Muhammed's message, he changed the single day-long fast into a month-long fast.

That change along with other changes was designed to break from Judaism and "one up" the tradition on which Islam was based.

It was at this time that Islamic prayer turned its back on Jerusalem and began praying towards Mecca. It was also when Islam moved from praying three times a day to five times a day.

ISIS is calling on Muslims around the world to attack infidels during Ramadan. ISIS and other terrorists see this month of introspection and atonement as well suited for attacking their enemy, the Western infidel, who abused and attacked Islam.

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