- Culture
- 10/04/2024
No ‘Ramadan, poor you’: “we are happy to”
Today it’s Eid al-Fitr, more commonly known in the Netherlands as Suikerfeest (Sugar Feast). Together with Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), this day is one of the two major holidays within Islam, marking the end of the month of fasting called Ramadan. But why do Muslims fast? And how do fasting TU/e students experience this period?
The Netherlands is a multicultural and multireligious country. According to the most recent figures of Statistics Netherlands, 5.6% of Dutch people are currently Muslim. A large portion of this group will therefore have fasted from sunrise to sunset in the past thirty days.
From sunrise to sunset
“Fasting during the month of Ramadan is described in the second chapter of the Quran. Here, it is mentioned and instructed all believing people have to fast,” says Esmae (who wishes to be called by first name due to privacy reasons), board member of Islamic student association Salaam. “Fasting means you don’t engage in any type of consumption from sunrise to sunset. So no eating, no drinking, but also no physical intimacy. Of course, there are exceptions (when fasting is not required, ed.) that are named in the same chapter, such as the sick and those who travel."
According to Esmae, the underlying thought of fasting is to free oneself from earthly life in order to focus on one’s faith. “By fasting we transcend these basic desires in order to free ourselves from worldly life and strengthen our relationship with the afterlife and our creator, Allah (Arabic for 'the God’, ed.). But also to develop traits such as self-control and discipline."
Suhoor and Iftar
As mentioned, there is to be no eating and drinking between sunrise and sunset. This really applies to all kinds of eating and drinking, including water. To make sure people get in enough nutrients and fluids, there are generally two important moments to eat and drink extra well: Suhoor and Iftar. Suhoor can be seen as a very early breakfast right before the sun rises, and Iftar as a late dinner once the sun has set. The exact time of Suhoor and Iftar depend on the period of the year. This year, fasting in the Netherlands started roughly between 4.30 and 5.30 AM and ended approximately between 6.30 and 8.30 PM.
Linguistic factoid
The Arabic word Iftar means ‘breaking the fast’, as the fast is broken during this meal. Eid al-Fitr contains a variant of this word (‘fitr’) and therefore means ‘feast of breaking the fast’.
Being together
According to Esmae, being together and joint worship are important aspects of Ramadan. “Ramadan, fasting, praying, getting up early (for Suhoor, ed.), breaking the fast (Iftar, ed.), Eid-al-Fitr – all of this is often done with your family,” she explains. “It’s just very motivating to live in a household in which these activities can be done together, especially since the 'fasting routine' sometimes combines awkwardly with your normal routine."
Esmae says that during this period in particular, it’s important to realize not everyone has their family here in the Netherlands. “There are many expats at our university. They do experience their share of loneliness during Ramadan.” This is why Salaam makes an active effort to bring these people together, for example by organizing joint Iftars. “It’s very good to see that they get to know each other and at some point start taking the initiative to get together themselves. We’ve really created a circle of friends,” she says.
Studying while fasting
In addition to loneliness, studying or working on an empty stomach is also a challenge. “Normally, you of course get your energy from food, as well as sleep. In that sense, it’s pretty challenging to concentrate on studying while fasting,” says Esmae. “So it’s nice that we have an Islamic community at university, because you run into each other and you motivate each other to keep going and make the best out of it.”
Incidentally, she doesn’t believe she should be pitied because of these challenges. “I think people are often like ‘Ramadan? Poor you’ and actually feel sorry for me because I have to fast,” she says. “Yes, it’s tough not to eat all day, but you know it’s an act that endears you to Allah and that makes you more than happy to do it.” In addition, she claims that fasting during Ramadan gets a little easier by the day. "At some point it comes naturally," she says.
Lunar calendar
This year, those who participated in Ramadan had it relatively easy: it got dark earlier, which meant a shorter fasting time. Over the next years, each Ramadan will be held slightly earlier than the one before. This is because Ramadan takes place in a different period each year. “The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, whereas in the West a solar calendar (January to December, ed.) is used,” Esmae explains. Just like the solar calendar, the lunar calendar has twelve months, one of them being Ramadan. As these months are shorter than in the solar calendar, a year lasts around eleven days shorter. This is the reason Ramadan annually moves up by approximately eleven days according to our Dutch solar calendar.
Following the lunar calendar also means that it’s only possible to tell whether the month of Ramadan is at its end – and whether Eid al-Fitr can therefore be celebrated – one day in advance. As a lunar cycle takes 29 or 30 days, one has to wait until the 29th day to check whether a new moon can be seen. If so, the new month is starting and Ramadan has lasted 29 days. If not, Ramadan lasts 30 days.
Eid al-Fitr
This year, Ramadan lasted thirty days and today, on the first day of the new month (called Shawwal), Eid al-Fitr is celebrated. On this day, many Muslims go to mosque early in the morning for a special prayer that is only said on the two Islamic holidays: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The rest of the day is typically spent eating good food together with family and friends.
As many Salaam members are spending the day with family and friends, Salaam opted to organize a delayed Eid al-Fitr celebration at TU/e. This will take place Thursday afternoon at 12 noon, over lunch. Please click here to sign up.
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