Sacred Duty

Discussing contemporary religion and culture with Ken Chitwood

A Ramadan Primer: What Texans need to know


The crescent moon is a symbol of Islam, but especially a symbol of Ramadan as it marks the beginning of the Muslim holy month of fasting (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)



It pays to be in the know as Ramadan begins. With increasing numbers of Muslims in Texas and across the U.S., there is a growing realization of the impact of Ramadan on local culture, and the economy. Both ReadtheSpirit and the Huffington Post put up pieces about  the financial ramifications of Ramadan and shared how the Muslim observance is going to impact geo-politics in Egypt and Syria, taxi cab drivers in Calgary and the global economy.

So what do you need to know about Ramadan? Here is a breakdown of some of the basics about Ramadan:

  • This year, Ramadan begins tonight, July 8th, and lasts until August 7th. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. The Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian solar calendar and does not adjust with the years, so Ramadan migrates throughout the seasons. Since the Islamic day starts after sunset, the sighting of the moon tonight will be the official start of Ramadan.
  • Throughout Ramadan, fasting lasts from dawn to sunset. There are mini-feasts and meals shared with other Muslims every evening, usually involving dates, apricots and other Ramadan delicacies. These are not large meals, but sustenance to help Muslims last the fast.
  • Ramadan commemorates when the prophet Muhammad received the Quran and fasted throughout that period.
  • Observing Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is known as “sawm” or fasting. The other Pillars are the Shahada (profession of belief), Salat (prayers), Zakat (alms) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).
  • The period of Ramadan ends with with a three-day festival called Eid al-Fitr. You can read more about the festival and its celebrations in Houston and at The White House HERE.
  • Those who are sick, elderly, pregnant, breast-feeding, traveling or too young are exempt from fasting. Children are not required to fast until they reach the “Age of Responsibility” around 12 years old for gils and 15 years of age for boys. Many children still give something up during the period and may skip one meal in preparation for the participation in later years and as a sign of their burgeoning faith.

*Read more about religion and culture by following @kchitwood on Twitter. 

4 Responses

  1. Jack says:

    Thank you for the information.
    There are many Muslims who work overnight jobs. If the fast period is from dawn to sunset, when these employees usually sleep, are they exempt from fasting or do they adjust the fasting period?

    • Ansar says:

      Fasting period is fixed, the first fast will begin around 4:15 AM and end at sunset around 8:10 PM.
      People who work nights usually will make up their sleep during the day while they are fasting, sounds easy for them, but is really not, as there are special prayers that one has to perform in this month besides the five daily which are during the day at various times.
      There are places in the world where they have the midsummer nights or Sun that is up for many months, they are allowed to adopt timings from the closest ‘Normal’ city with regular sunrises and sunsets.

  2. Ansar says:

    Thank you Ken, for this informative Ramadhan 101 post. This year the fasts will be about sixteen hours long. There are many who still do not understand the Muslim fast, the non-Muslims try to make a similarity with the fasting in their own faiths.
    Having worked in Corporate America, the month of Ramadhan used to be particularly difficult especially around lunch time when people would be eating all sorts of delicious food and the aroma would permeate into my office. Sometimes I used to get up and go out for walks. I used to educate everyone around me about Ramadhan and most were very respectiveful – I loved their being understanding. At times I have also given presentations at work at the end of Ramadhan and treated the whole group with Muslims dishes.
    Going to the fasting part though, the Muslim fast which non-Muslims find difficult to understand is that the sixteen hour fast means total abstention from food or drinks – nothing should pass through your mouth. (Side note: Hakeem Olajuwan the Rockets star center used to fast and play a rigorous three hour game w/o even a sip of water! The strength comes from one’s strong faith)
    It is a blessed month, there are many other miracles that happened during this month (maybe I will do another post on it), the biggest miracle being the Divine revelation of the Quran.
    Happy Ramadhan

  3. wisconsin cheese says: