Is it Islamophobic to point out the dangers to health of Ramadan, especially Ramadan in July? If so, prepare to be shocked by this June 27 article in the notoriously Islamophobic Guardian.
Tears ran down the cheeks of an elderly Asian man sitting in his hospital bed during Ramadan last year as he sought reassurance from Muslim chaplain Siddiq Diwan because he could not participate in the annual religious month-long fast.
“I know I am ill and do not have to fast, Imam,” the old man said to Diwan at Manchester Royal Infirmary. “But I have never missed one in seven decades, and I really feel bad about it.”
While this patient had reluctantly accepted that fasting was not an option for him, thousands of Muslims with diabetes in the UK go ahead regardless. Many will put themselves at risk of serious illness and dangerous complications by taking part in the Ramadan fast (beginning on 28 June) when they go without food, water and even medication between sunrise and sunset – despite the fact that the Qur’an makes exceptions for the sick, pregnant women, children and anyone for whom it would cause physical harm.
That spells out the problem pretty well right there. Ramadan is obviously way too onerous. It’s too coercive, too mandatory, too exceptionless, too demanding. That elderly Asian man with diabetes should not be feeling guilty or sad or anything of the kind about having to refrain from fasting; it shouldn’t be any kind of issue. Nobody should go without water (or medication ffs) between sunrise and sunset; it’s bad for the body.
And this idea (or none-too-subtle implication) that it’s “Islamophobic” to say so? Bullshit. Thinking people should have a less harsh and dangerous version of their religion is not a hostile act or even thought.
[An imam’s] experiences are echoed in the UK’s first study on the beliefs and experiences of Muslims with diabetes during Ramadan, being carried out by Manchester University-based psychologist Dr Neesha Patel. The results, published in the journal Health Expectations, highlight the intense pressures felt by individuals with diabetes during the period, from family, culture, religion and their own conscience.
More than half the diabetics in Patel’s study still fasted; many continued to do so through a sense of obligation, the need to conform or a belief that the Qur’an demanded it. Some altered their own medication during the period of Ramadan – mostly without the advice of their GP or practice nurse. Some were put under family pressure to follow the fast, while others felt the need to conceal their decision not to fast by snacking in secret.
That’s awful. There’s nothing good to say about it. it’s just awful; it’s fucked up.
Patel says: “Ramadan is an annual event – it is going to be with us forever. There is a large Muslim population in the UK and the level of diabetes in some of the communities is many times higher than in the UK generally. This is a big issue. For change to happen there needs to be government support.”
The UK has a population of 2.7 million Muslims, of whom 325,000 have diabetes. The South Asian population has six times the general rate of the condition. This year the holy month of Ramadan falls in the summer, and fasters in parts of the northern hemisphere will face periods without food or water that last up to 21 hours. These long periods of abstinence will feature for the next 10 years.
That’s a death sentence for some people.
GP Dr Faizan Ahmed from Moss Side Family Medical Practice in Manchester agrees there is a need for clarity. He says: “At the moment there is a social stigma in some community groups about not fasting, and the onus is very much on the individual to make a decision.”
Since 2010, his practice has invited all patients known to be Muslim for a pre-Ramadan review of their health and medication. This he described as a “watershed”, with fewer patients ending up in A&E since, and some taking the decision for the first time not to fast because of their health problems.
In the absence of national health guidelines, Diabetes UK, in collaboration with the Muslim Council of Britain, has produced culturally-sensitive material for people who want to fast, and scripts for Imams. This year the charity is sending volunteers into five largely Islamic areas during Ramadan, with the aim of reducing diabetic complications.
The best outcome would be if the whole thing were optional. But clearly that’s way too much to ask…
I thouroughly hate the word islamophobic. We should introduce muslemphobic as an alternative (not unlike the succesful introduction of islamist).
I completely agree muslemphobia exists. Just look for any movie from holywood with muslem or arabic characters. Islamophobia however targets the religion itself, not the religious. The religion should be discussable anywhere, and most certainly here in the west. (obviously without discrimination towards muslems).
Ophelia… Look at it like this. Christmas killed my grandfather. Absolute fact. He was actually so worked up about it, just looking forward to seeing us all, and he had a week heart, and a history of issues when he got excited. He knew he shouldn’t be part of family gatherings, that it wasn’t good for his health, but he wanted to anyway, and.. well, Christmas Eve… BANG! He wasn’t even a Christian, but due to what you would no doubt call coercive social pressures, we always celebrated Christmas anyway. I suppose if you look at our activities the way you’re choosing to look at Islam and Muslims, we killed him, by not cancelling the party that year.
Not that he would have been happy if we had. How do you decide when you should take that last ski trip, that last climbing expedition (they’re inherently dangerous anyway). How do you decide when you should give up driving your car – an activity which is definitely way too onerous, too coercive, too mandatory, too exceptionless, too demanding and too goddamn dangerous! Don’t you think you will feel life slipping away from you and put off those choices beyond the point that’s best for you?
You’re really lacking compassion and you’re not even pushing atheism or anything even remotely helpful. Diabetics should not fast. It’s people with harshly anti-Islamic views like yours who make it harder to send a message that ‘Diabetics should not fast!’ Your whole way of expressing yourself is hostile and it’s that kind of hostility that responsible for the retrenchment of Islam in western societies. But the main reason you’re flirting with Islamophobia is that everything you’re saying about Ramadan could be said of a vast number of meaningful or highly desired activities you haven’t apparently thought of criticizing. You have a double standard: focus on Islam negatively while ignoring any other activities your criticisms may apply to.
But there isn’t any pressure whatsoever to avoid pointing out that Christmas is indeed a risk factor, or in recommending ways for people to deal with that.
See
“Christmas and New Year as risk factors for death.”
and
“The “Merry Christmas Coronary” and “Happy New Year Heart Attack” Phenomenon”
… the level of diabetes in some of the [Muslim] communities is many times higher than in the UK generally.
Anybody have any ideas why that is?
How about in the Muslim population elsewhere/worldwide?
Could the stresses of Ramadan affect the pancreas in ways that increase diabetes?
pen @ # 2: … everything you’re saying about Ramadan could be said of a vast number of meaningful or highly desired activities you haven’t apparently thought of criticizing.
Would it be just too NewAtheistically-rude to ask you to cite some examples or otherwise try to make sense?
@Pen
You’re really lacking compassion and you’re not even pushing atheism or anything even remotely helpful. Diabetics should not fast. It’s people with harshly anti-Islamic views like yours who make it harder to send a message that ‘Diabetics should not fast!’ Your whole way of expressing yourself is hostile and it’s that kind of hostility that responsible for the retrenchment of Islam in western societies
Im curious why you decided to add western societies? Do diabetics in Islamic countries fast or not? if they do , whats your reasoning – or does Ophelia and her awesome minions hold sway in these non -western societies too?
Very good series of posts about Ramadan.
(And by the way, Pen, the reason to speak specifically about Ramadan, and not, say, Christmas, is that the level of social coercion coupled with potential for physical damage is much higher in one than the other. The worst thing that will happen to you if you do the Xmas thing is you’ll be a bit poorer, you may eat too much. and you’ll have to be polite to too many relatives.)
Forty years ago, I don’t remember any of this medically idiotic gonzoness about Ramadan. Not to say it didn’t happen, but it was definitely less widespread. It must be yet another symptom of the fundamentalization of everything.
Just a few points. Not taking your medications is directly opposed to what’s there in black and white in the Koran itself. So is fasting if you’re diabetic. So is getting yourself dehydrated to the point of illness. Although I’ve heard plenty of stories over the years from an oil exploration worker I know about locals in the Middle East who’d refuse to drink while working on oil rigs in over-100F heat. They’d pass out, of course, and have to be carried away and then intravenously rehydrated before they came to. …
And then the business of taking rules made in a place with little daylength variation and applying it in the high Arctic. Why don’t the imams pipe up and say, “No, no, it’s the daylength in Mecca that counts.” Or something marginally sensible. Anything. I guess we’re lucky there aren’t any Muslims who’ve put their brains in cold storage working at the South Pole research station.
“It’s people with harshly anti-Islamic views like yours who make it harder to send a message that ‘Diabetics should not fast!’
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullshit. Wrong.
If your entire society, community and family tell you “fasting is important, obedience is important, this is your duty, this is your obligation, God is watching, think about judgement day, we’re watching you, do you want to be a bad Muslim?” EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR FUCKING LIFE, that would have a SHIT TON more influence on your decision to fast even when it might harm you than anything “Islamophobes” might say.
Pen – exactly how am I lacking compassion?
Also, please answer my reply to your comment in the asthma inhaler post. You keep commenting and then ignoring replies. Given your increasing venom, that’s increasingly unacceptable.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2014/07/some-scholars-say-the-asthma-inhaler-breaks-the-fast/comment-page-1/#comment-2459980
Here is a link to the informative leaflet produced jointly by Diabetes UK and the Muslim Council of Britain. One click on this link could save a life. Most people with health problems, such as diabetes, are exempt from fasting. Choosing to fast is a personal decision that you should make with advice from your diabetes team. For some people with diabetes, fasting can be dangerous or cause problems to your health. Speak to your GP, diabetes nurse or diabetes doctor before fasting.
Self-inflicted misery is an essential component of many religions, it reinforces belief by making a public demonstration that the faithful have actually internalised the mind-numbing crap and gibberish in their holy books.
As in Stalin’s Russia no one wanted to be the first to stop clapping one of his speeches, so there’s not likely to be many volunteers to opt out of Ramadan.
Perhaps Mohammed was history’s greatest practical joker.
@Pen,
What influence do ‘harshly anti-Islamic views’ have on Moslems’ practice of their religion, it’s ridiculous to blame Western civilisation for Islamic cultural practices that have developed over the last 1400 years.
It IS optional. According to the article “the Qur’an makes exceptions for the sick, pregnant women, children and anyone for whom it would cause physical harm.” So according to the ruling documents of the religion, diabetics should not be fasting. The interesting question is therefore, why are diabetics feeling pressured (internally or externally) to violate their own religious teachings?
Well exceptions aren’t the same thing as optional. I’m saying Ramadan should be optional for everyone, not that there should be “exceptions” for people who need them. As it is now it’s being treated as very much not optional for everyone, which is creepy.
I spell this out more clearly in the most recent post.
I don’t think pen is interested in dialogue, but….
[citation needed]
This is just another attempt to silence any criticism, no matter how mild.
“If you criticize us, we’re just going to get more hostile and entrenched.”
Sounds like a three year old throwing a temper tantrum. Which is pretty much how so many islamists act.