Circumspecte

Ramadan Kareem! The Holy month is here again, and started on August 1 for most of the world. This year's Ramadan is significant for me in a number of ways. Numero uno, it's my first Ramadan in 6 years with my entire family in Ghana! And by family I mean nuclear family. Previous Ramadans were spent with various 'family members' in the US, France, Senegal, and virtually. So now we're back to home base, Alhamdulilahi, and that also means there are some key differences, the least not being the fact that I actually eat properly during suhoor (dawn meal) and iftar (evening meal) thanks to mummy :) I've probably mentioned on here how every year right before Ramadan something usually pops ups to mess with my equilibrium and then the entire month is essentially spent delving within and trying to regain my internal balance. So far there has been nothing of the sort. Alhamdulilahi I'm swimming in harmony; my family and friends are close, I have an interesting job, e...

So it's official! Ramadan has begun!! Muslims in Ghana and other African countries started fasting yesterday, Friday August 21st, while those of us on this side of the Atlantic, and in places like S. Korea, started fasting today on Saturday August 22 nd . Whew, that was quite a mouthful. Last week, I was talking to my co-workers and supervisor about what Ramadan entails, and a couple of questions cropped up. How many days do you fast for? Can you drink water? Does EVERY Muslim have to fast? When do you break your fast? Do you still go to school and work? Why do you fast? Is fasting in the US the same as fasting in Ghana? I figured some of you might have the same or similar questions, so this blog is to give you some more insight into the process of fasting in Islam. Like I mentioned in the first edition of this series, there are quite a number of similarities between Islam and Christianity. Muslims aren't the only ones who fast or are encouraged to fast. Jesus Christ ("Is...