Fasting for Ramadan as a non-Muslim

My first memory of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan goes back to the mid 90′s, when NBA basketball held my captivity like no other spectator sport at the time. While the Houston Rockets made it a habit to knock my Phoenix Suns out of the playoffs every spring, their Hall of Fame center had his own unique practice every fall.

Hakeem Olajuwon had some sort of strange religious beliefs that kept him from eating or drinking until the sun went down. Even during practices in the middle of the day, the guy would just look on as all of his teammates chugged Gatorade right in front of him. As the sun went down, “The Dream” would say some prayers, and then annihilate a meal and at least a gallon of water. It was a bizarre ritual that seemed more akin to vampire behavior than that of a man of God. But, I was just a teenager, and the glory of the Internet had yet to enlighten me (or any of us) with an opportunity to research this peculiarity. I know that it’s shocking to think of a teenager being so harsh and judgmental, but you’ll just have to trust me. It happens.

A decade and a half later, and I’ve got Muslim friends left and right who have been explaining Ramadan to me all over the place (with actions, even more so than words). Much like the Christian fasts that I have experienced, Muslims use the physical grumblings and pains of the fast as a reminder to be mindful of the life-giving creator and sustainer. More attention is given to service and special offerings as well, but the fasting during the sunlight hours is the main component to Ramadan.

When I was a teenager, I participated in a 40-hour famine, to serve as a reminder of those who did not have enough food and water in places like Africa. Apparently, it’s still going on, but only in Australia and New Zealand (the 40-hour, youth-focused event, not the actual famine). I also have fasted at various times as a Christian discipline during times of trial, or when I needed to make a big decision.

These fasts (unlike Ramadan) lasted through the night(s), and allowed me to drink water all the while. The longest that I ever went was about 70 hours.

I’ve started fasts many times. More than half of the time, I’ve bailed early and convinced myself that I was wise in throwing in the towel when I did. It couldn’t have been that I had been regularly salivating over cartoon and claymation sandwiches on TV. It was the surely the fact that God had shown me what I had needed to see, and He now wanted me to get my grub on, lest I feel any further unnecessary discomfort (sarcasm intended).

Well, it’s a whole new world for me now, spiritually speaking. I’ve been steadily moving into the interfaith movement for the last few years. Much of this is spurred by a passion for empathy. I’ve been involved with some literal walking in the shoes of Muslims, but now I want to experience something deeper.

So, I’m going to be fasting for Ramadan as a non-Muslim. I’m not going to be praying, per se, but I will be doing some regular meditation and contemplation. I’m also going to attempt to imagine what it must be like for these mothers in Somalia to have to abandon their weakest children by the road so that they might have a chance to save their strongest. I can’t truly get to their level of pain, but I hope that it will give me pause before I reach for a bottle of water at 4pm tomorrow afternoon.

I’m going to spend some time with some Muslims, I’m going to be taking a business trip to Oregon, I’m going to be doing a number of normal tasks, and I’m going to chronicle the interesting (hopefully) parts here on my blog.

Today is officially Day 0. I’ll be getting up and eating at about 5:15AM tomorrow. After the sun has set, and I have replenished my body with some nutrients, I’ll write a post here about my experience. Feel free to comment on any of the posts. I’m sure I’ll need some encouragement along the way. Let’s see how this goes.

PS – I’m sorry, but I can’t start a story about Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets crapping all over the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs without at least offering this visual proof that we didn’t go down without a fight.

Yes, that is little 6′ 1″ Kevin Johnson dunking all over 7′ 0″ Hakeem Olajuwon, in the playoffs, AND 1. The YouTube clip captures the glory from multiple angles with some cheesy announcer dialogue to boot. It’s one of the proudest moments for Suns fans, as well it should be.

Of course, this has very little to do with Ramadan. Sorry about that. We’ll be back on that subject tomorrow. See you then.