Why I’m Fasting This Ramadan
I’ve been fasting for Ramadan, so 23 days now. What this means, practically, is that I don’t take food or water from around 5 AM to 6:30, despite it being the hottest season in Sri Lanka. What this means, personally, is I have a better understanding of my Muslim friends, who I’ve seen doing this for years. What this means, spiritually, is that I pray to Allah 4–5 times a day (despite being a Buddhist) and I find it a moving experience (despite perhaps putting my soul in danger, since I’ve clearly been told now). I’ve found it a difficult but rewarding experience. These are my experiences, insomuch as I can communicate them at all.
Literally Why
My father, a pretty devout atheist, told me to read the Bible when I was young. You simply have to know the Bible to understand modern literature and the modern world. For this reason, I try to read as many foundational texts as I can, and the Quran is obviously foundational for much of the world.
Lately I’ve been feeling this big gap in my knowledge because Hamas, Hezbollah, Ansar Allah, etc, make references that just go over my head. And they’re great references. They talk about ‘weak as a spider’s web’ and ‘it was not you who threw, but Allah who threw.’ There’s obviously a big and rich literary world out there that I’m just…
