The Globe and Mail – August 6, 2012
For over two weeks, hundreds of thousands of Muslim Canadians across the country have been observing Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. During the holy month, Muslims abstain from food, drink and other pleasures in daylight hours to commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an to Mohammed. With Ramadan falling this year in the dead of summer, extended daylight means that Muslims are fasting longer than in previous years – up to 18 hours a day in some parts of the country. In order to get in a morning breakfast before dawn breaks, many wake up before 4 a.m. to eat. With prayers going until midnight, the days are long.
With nearly two weeks left of Ramadan, The Globe and Mail spoke to five Muslim Canadians about what it’s like to fast on the job, and what it is they each take from the experience of going from dawn to dusk with no food for 30 days.
