(June 1, 2017 at 6:30 am)Lebneni Murtad Wrote: I still sneak in some water and food. And I live in Lebanon, so it is now hot.
Ramadan is the 9th month and considered special, where Muslims have to fast from dusk till sunset, they abstain from food, water, tobacco, and sex. And muslims get closer to Allah, by praying and reading more and doing charity.
And right now in Lebanon the weather is becoming hotter, and without water people get dehydrated especially during hot weather, I had a few friends and acquaintances who had been hospitalized during ramadan.
At work, my boss and coworkers are islamists, so I have to fake fast or else it will cost me my job, and I can't sneak in water or food, I try to go out during my break and go to a non-muslim mini mart to buy bottled water and some snacks to help me be more productive at work.
Productivity decreases in ramadan, time becomes significantly slower and the fastest thing I see is reckless drivers heading for iftar.
At home, my mom is less religious than my dad, and if I break my fast she is usually okay with it and sometimes she breaks her fast, but my dad nags a lot.
Thankfully Lebanon has a 35% Christian population 55% Muslim 5% druze, atheism and agnosticism are on the rise in Lebanon so we have no islamic laws enforced during ramadan, most restaurants are open throughout the day, unlike other Islamic countries where people who don't fast openly are jailed and can sometimes be deadly.
In Lebanon, the likelihood of terrorist attacks by Daesh or Al Qaeda increases.
In 2014 or 2012 Northen Lebanon, islamists threw a grenade at a restaurant or cafe during ramadan.
At iftar (when Muslims break their fast) they gorge on multiple platters in starvation quickly, which is harmful to the digestive system, and they wake up in the dusk to eat before engaging their fast, causing morning heartburn and weight gain.
Because of fasting I am having slight headaches, but I always try to stay hydrated and have a small snack to alleviate it.
This is what it's like to be an ex-muslim atheist during ramadan.
While I have a duty in the open west to protect human rights, I will not back off criticism of any religion.
It is one thing to not do something because you don't want to do it, but when you say others who don't share your views cant eat during the day, that does piss me off.
There are decent humans worldwide, and the idea of empathy and charity is universal, and not a patent owned by or invented by one label. I find it absurd that some nations still live in the past where they insist others partake in a ritual even when they don't follow that ritual.
But don't feel alone, the west has had it's own history of religious bullshit. We still have pockets in America where blue laws exist. There was even a time when you could not buy kitchen appliances on Sunday, and even today, we have idiots proposing bans on hunting on Sunday.
I'd only say the difference is the east has not had the same long term secular leash that the west has.
