Ramadan

Happy Ramadan!
Today is the first day of Ramadan for the roughly 1 billion Muslims in the world. Being raised in a Christian family Oklahoma, the "buckle of the Bible belt," my knowledge and experience of Islam is embarrassingly scant. That said, all I really know about Ramadan is what I've learned about how it applies to me and will affect my life and work here in Senegal, but I hope to learn much more about it while experiencing it this month in my village.

Ramadan is one of the 5 Pillars of Islam, meaning that every Muslim- with some exceptions- is required to fast from sunrise to sunset for the entire month. It sounds partially feasible to fast from food all day, right? That's what I thought when I heard about Ramadan until I found out that the Koran also requires Muslims to fast from water as well during Ramadan. Let's think for a minute about where the majority of the worlds Muslim population is located: The Middle East and Africa, places where the environment is harsh and life is generally not easy- aka in the desert. Never in my life before coming to Senegal have I had to be this consciously diligent about my water intake. I drink water here like it's my job. I sweat so much here that if I don't drink at least 3 liters of water a day I get a huge dehydration headache. I know I'm a pansy from America and that as a general rule Senegalese people are on average 500% more hardcore than I am, but they also have not had a lifetime of good nutrition and proper medical care, either. No matter who you are, nothing good can come from not eating or drinking water all day in the desert.

The thing that shocked me, though, is that apparently nobody cheats. Maybe my thoughts will change after experiencing Ramadan in my village, but everyone I've talked to about Ramadan in Senegal has told me that cheating just isn't an option for Muslims here. What's more is that people who are not required by the Koran to fast during Ramadan- pregnant and nursing mothers, children, the elderly, menstruating women, sick people, ect.- often still fast. The Koran lays out who exactly isn't required to fast, but it's not really a Get Out Of Jail Free card; those people are required to "make up" Ramadan when they are well, but they have to do it before the next Ramadan. The problem, then, becomes that nobody wants to make it up all by themselves. During Ramadan it is easier to fast because everyone else is fasting. When you have to fast alone, though, I would imagine that it sucks that much more because in addition to everybody else is eating food and drinking water all day long in front of you, there's also no sense of community suffering and motivation.

There are many obvious health concerns for people fasting when they are not supposed to. I have been told that they are many miscarriages after Ramadan because pregnant women often still fast. Children who decide to fast become that much more malnourished and unhealthy. Breastfeeding mom's often don't have enough nutrients to produce milk to breastfeed their babies, therefore resulting in more malnourished babies and potentially a higher infant mortality rate. You get the point. It simply isn't healthy for these people to fast, but they often do anyway, often to detrimental results.

The main problem I have with Ramadan is that many people in rural areas of Senegal don't even know anything about Islam. Because 95% people here are Muslim, it's easy to see how one would be Muslim just because that's how it's always been for their family and for their village. In the big cities in Senegal and pretty much everywhere in Northern Senegal, there are Koranic schools and Mosques everywhere. Parents often send their children to Koranic schools in these areas to learn about the Koran and how to read, speak, and pray in Arabic. I can only really talk about what I've seen in my village, but from my experience there it is pretty much safe to say that nobody there except for maybe 1 or 2 old people know anything about the Koran or Islam. They don’t go to Koranic schools and thus haven't learned how to speak Arabic, which means they don't know how to say the 5 daily prayers, which I can only assume from what I've seen and heard means that they don't do them. If they don't do or know how to say the 5 daily prayers (another one of the 5 Pillars of Islam), why do they find it necessary to put themselves through what I can only assume is the sheer torture that is Ramadan. I just don't get it. I mean, it's the same thing with lots of Catholics in the States during Lent. I've known tons of people who claim to be Catholic but never go to mass or confession and really don't practice anything their supposed religion preaches, but as soon as Lent comes, they are talking about what they're giving up for Lent. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now.

I could very easily go off on a tangent about people blindly following religion and never thinking for themselves, but I will save that joy for another day. I just wanted to write a blog before Ramadan to let you all know what's going on in my life this next month.

As for me, I plan to attempt to fast for a few days or maybe even a week, depending on how well my body holds up. I will not, however, fast from water; that's just crazy. The main reason I want to attempt to fast is because I've been told by other volunteers their fasting really helped them get close to their host families and villages, not to mention giving them some street cred in their village. I definitely want to get closer to my family and my village, and if fasting for a couple days during Ramadan will help me do that, I'm all for it. Also, when in my life will I ever get to experience Ramadan in Senegal again? A big reason for my joining the Peace Corps was to gain perspective of how people live here, and there's no better way to get that perspective than from doing the things they do.