Ramadan

The Lesson of Ramadan oder "Die totale Perversion"

freie Übersetzung aus der SAUDI GAZETTE vom 15. 10 2005

Krankenhäuser berichten von einer steigenden Anzahl von Patienten mit Verdauungsproblemen während dem heiligen Monat Ramadan. Viele Saudis und Ausländer gehen während der Zeit in der das Fasten gebrochen werden kann zu Fress-Orgien.

Die Aufforderung von Ärzten zu moderatem Essen nach einem ganzen Tag Fasten, stoßen auf taube Ohren.

Verglichen mit normalen, nicht-Ramadan-Tagen, leiden 10-20% der Patienten, die nach dem Iftar-Banquette in den Notaufnahmen ankommen an Problemen verursacht durch Überfressen. Verglichen mit den Vorjahren allerdings scheint sich die Situation zu verbessern, die Menschen scheinen sich der Gefahr des Überfressens nach dem Fasten bewusster zu werden. ...

By Suzan A. Resheq

The Saudi Gazette 

JEDDAH. Hospitals report increasing numbers of patients suffering from indigestion during the holy month of Ramadan, when many Saudis and expatriates go on eating binges during fast breaking hours.

Doctors say their calls for moderation in eating, especially when breaking the daylong fast at Iftar banquets filled with a variety of rich food dishes and special sweets, are falling on deaf ears. And citizens, especially the more affluent, find it hard to shed the extra weight and the dietary and lifestyle habits they have acquired over the years. Compared to normal non-Ramadan days, between 10-20 percent of people who show up at the hospital's emergency center after the Iftar banquet suffer from problems caused by overeating, says a doctor at one of the leading hospitals in Jeddah.

However, compared to previous years, the situation appears to be improving as people appear to have become more aware over the dangers of overeating after breaking the fast, he adds. People who suffer from chronic kidney failure and stomach and kidney problems but insist on fasting should be even more careful when they have their Iftar meal after not eating and drinking from dawn to dusk.

Other side effects of excessive appetite for food and sweets during Ramadan include food poisoning, rising levels of cholesterol and sugar in the blood and other previously unknown conditions, said Dr. Hafiz Hakmy. Paradoxically , the month when Muslims are supposed to show solidarity with souls less fortune, Ramadan has turned into a much-awaited consumer bonanza for shop owners, restaurants and coffee shops. While they scramble to lure customers by placing ads in the newspapers and promising gargantuan family meals at relatively low prices, the country's poor, turn elsewhere.

Many line up outside mosques where charities organize meager mow ed Al-Rahman mercy mass meals consisting of basic meals or wait at home for philanthropists to send them food packages. In some cases, they sift through garbage containers to find anything they can recycle or eat. "Allah does not forget us", says Ahmed, a 12-year-old boy taking out some domestic waste from a garbage container. "I always end up finding something to chew on", he says. And this is better than the tea and bread we have to eat everyday home when we break our fast, adds his younger brother. Ahmed, who sells chewing gum at a traffic light in the heart of Jeddah, says he has a disabled father and his family of six relies on SR600 in monthly government grants.

As the call to prayer at sunset echoes across Jeddah, many people charge for dinner tables. Everyone wants to try everything. But in some cases, stomachs shrunken by a day of fasting when not even water is allowed protest at the sudden intake and much food ends up in the rubbish bin. "Wasting food is against Islam, which urges help for the disadvantaged and the earth's millions of starving people", says Sheikh Abdul Karim Refay. "The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) broke his fast with dates and milk", he adds. But in general, people do not want to hear this.

Meanwhile, Saudi Radio and Television broadcast programs to inform citizens about the dangers of obesity and to educate them on how to cook healthy food.

Ramadan tents have become so popular that some restaurants and five stars hotels are providing them for guests and the population at large. "We try to create a traditional atmosphere for the clients by serving special food and sweets associated with Ramadan", says Ahmed Masri, an Egyptian restaurant manager. Other tents host post Iftar entertainment, including hubble-bubbles and games to help people socialize.