If I were posting seasons greetings on a Merry Christmas thread, I wouldn't want to read pages and pages of posts questioning the existence of God, paganisation of Christianity, commericalisation of Christmas etc.. To me that would be trolling.
That is so very true Castro - I looked at previous threads on eg XMas prior to starting this thread, and hoped it would turn out the same way i.e. just conveying wishes and greetings.
Actually, that is exactly the example I was going to give when I posted that I'd split things off, but decided against explaining it further. I probably should have.
Nah, just saying have some respect for this holiday and the post. People can bash away at Muslims, Christians, Pagans, Jews, the orthodox of any faith, Hindus, etc. in another thread, I've got no issue with it in the least. In fact, I enjoy a good religious debate. I'd have done the same thing if this was a post about Christmas and people chimed in with anti-christian stuff or about Rosh Hashanna and people questioned everything about judiasim in the thread.
For those who do follow Ramadan - how does your daily menu look like? Are there special dishes to "celebrate" this time? Or you eat the meals you usually have?
Well you can decide what you want to eat. There is no compulsion on what you eat, if it's not prohibited. Though in almost all homes there is something special most of the days which you cook rarely otherwise.
On a different note Ramadan also gives you a chance to quit your other habits like smoking , drinking, back biting, lying etc.
Yes you will encounter the same in Dubai. Most places are closed during the day, even the Starbucks in Hotels you will find closed in observance of Ramadan till the evening.
It will be alittel inconvenient but of you are not Moslem then generally accomodations should be made. Just try to be respectful- don't bring a ham sandwich to a meeting or eat or drink in front of any Moslems that are fasting.
The not eating during the day is easy. I do drink tea, so I'm not following it properly, but it is the mental cleansing that is tough for me- I can't stop gossiping. Here is what other Moslems are trying to do, so if some are a little reserved this may be why.
No eating, drinking, smoking or sex between sunrise (fajr) and sunset (maghrib, rather than magrib). Curb undesirable emotions such as anger, greed, envy, lust, and refrain from gossip. Keep thoughts and actions pure and use the time of fasting for spiritual contemplation. Be charitable and help those in need. Visit friends and family Of course if you are noramlly pure of thought Ramadan is a breeze!
i dont know how it is in arab countries, but i can assure you that it won't be a problem for you to travel to indonesia during ramadhan. you still can find food during daytime, some restaurant will be covered up so people outside cannot see who eat inside the restaurant. i think it would be another interesting experience to travel there during ramadhan and idul fitri (end of ramadhan) so you can see thousand people in white doing mass prayer. plus you can have the lebaran (idl fitri in indonesian) speciality, mild chicken curry (opor) with spicy beef and jackfruit soup
That is a very good idea Ali - browse through the Social Events section ( you can use this event as an example ) or click here to start an event or here for a thread in there. I am sure there will be members ( and their guests ) who are keen.