Circumspecte

Kenya. Who would have thought that one of Africa's brightest would be in the news for other than economic prowess and technological advancements? And yet it happened. On Saturday, September 21, members of the Somali extremist Islamist movement Al-Shabab attacked Nairobi's popular WestGate mall , killing an estimated 62 people and injuring up to 150 others. The victims and injured comprised of both Kenyans and non-Kenyans, with some as young as 2 years. One of Ghana's own - renowned poet and former statesman Kofi Awoonor - was caught in the crossfire as well. The fact that this happened is heartbreaking and still unthinkable; no amount of empathy could make it possible to understand the why behind such an unacceptable act.  That said, anyone who limits this unfortunate incident to an act in the name of religion is sorely missing the point in this recent attack as well as past terrorist acts by known Islamist groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Qaeda. Africa...

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...