Working for extended hours on an empty stomach and having to resist food temptations might look hard, but for Dubai expats residing in other nations and Europe, the sacred month brings about a brand new degree of endurance that could inspire the West.
When in Finland
A Kurd living in Finland since 1994, Kosar Mahmoodi, fasts for 21 hours and 13 minutes. The 26-year old said its own challenges may be added by working for eight hours a day, but eating healthful and great scheduling does the trick.
“I live in Turku, South of Finland, so I’m considered fortunate. In other areas of Finland, the sun doesn’t place in summer,” said Mahmoodi.
With less than three hours Mahmoodi noticed that little nutritious Iftar helps keep her blood glucose level in equilibrium before she goes for an hour long Taraweeh prayers. She then immediately returns home to eat Suhoor, and it’s Fajr prayers before she sees.
But for Mahmoodi, it’s about mindset.
“I am not saying it’s a part of cake, but folks worry about fasting too much. If we concentrate on the motives we quickly, we’ll find the experience significant,” she said.
Mahmoodi spends her day at parties for faith discussions in local Muslim Youth Centre. Pleasure tasks and brief lectures before Maghrib helps pass the time.
Fasting in Canada
When Indo-Canadian Hanan Auzam was in the UAE, fasting was simpler because she was spending briefer days on the job and was inside. But the “steady food temptation in Canada, and needing to explain to co-workers why you fast” makes her encounter somewhat challenging.
Auzam keeps her head off the hunger through horticulture, taking day Quran courses or renovating her backyard. Some Quran is read by them at 9pm before the family assembles for Iftar.
After Taraweeh ends at 12.30a.m., Auzam and her sisters help with the mosque’s clean-up.
“We appreciate the sacred month. The religious calmness we feel and continuous reminders of God’s blessings for us makes the encounter delightful,” she said.
Fasting in UK
Pakistani Zahra Hasan lived for 21 years in the UAE before moving to the united kingdom in 2013. Hasan said it’s the community feeling that she misses most, while days were shorter in the UAE.
“The whole country appeared to come together to fast in Dubai.
Hasan, who fasts for 18 hours, said that working helps time pass. Like the preceding two, she noted that eating food full of a boiled egg as well as fibres does the trick.
“I never realised how much of the day is concentrated around meals! The most important battle for me is being without java,” she said.
Hasan noted she enjoys talking about her faith while receiving questions from Westerners.
Abstaining from water and food for nearly a whole day starts the West’s interest.
Mahmoodi said: “A question I get is ‘You cannot drink water?
Nevertheless, she stressed that devotion, as well as strength to God, is respected in the West. While media gives a bogus concept of Islam to the West, Mahmoodi said her job as a Muslim expat will be to reveal the accurate significance of her faith.
Repeating similar ideas was Auzam who said that Muslims in Canada are supporters of Islam. “We must show them that fasting isn’t much of a challenge and that it really provides the opportunity for religious reflection.”
She included that Non-Muslim Canadians discover fasting for 30 days directly amazing, which drives them to try it out themselves.
For Auzam, Muslim attempts are finally paying off. “We’re finding more recognition and Canadian non-Muslims are educating other non-Muslims about Ramadan,” she said.
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