Ramadam is about to begin and so final preparations are made for the month of fasting. At Mevlana Mosque in Eindhoven, food packages are put together and Muslims are mentally prepared for the month of reflection.
Ramadan begins on Wednesday or Thursday. Muslims may not eat or drink during the day for a month, but that is not the only thing that period stands for. “It is a month of reflection for us, in which we do our best. That is also stated in the Quran. We must make extra good use of this month. You have to see it just like at a school with the test weeks, you do just that little bit more your best”, Imam Mehmet Nurullah Canatan explains.
Daylight saving time
Summer time will start next Saturday, so the sun will not set until an hour later and Muslims will have less time to eat. Although, according to the Imam, that does not matter. “Ramadan is ten days earlier every year. The days are going to get longer, but we’ve been doing this for years. We also fasted in the middle of summer and that’s really harder”.
Sport
Many athletes also remain active during the fasting month. For FC Eindhoven players, the time difference is of greater importance. The sun often sets during the games, but whether they are bothered with that is the question. “I see it in a different way. You have people who have to work from 8:00 to 17:00, I only have to be on the field for an hour and a half. So it’s not too bad. I don’t know any better, I’ve been fasting since I was a little boy. In the summer it is indeed a different story. Then you have to play in the heat at 14:30 and then the days are also very long”, attacker Youness Mokthar explains.
More focused
According to Mokthar, there are six players from FC Eindhoven who are participating in Ramadan. “We can’t wait for Ramadan to start. We support each other and are more focused on the game. Ramadan also has something spiritual, you are more concerned with faith”, Mokthar explains.
“I have also had trainers who were amazed and had a lot of respect for us. It really has to do with discipline. I understand if you are not a Muslim and you participate for a day, that you are only busy with food, but it’s more than that for us. We usually play our best games during Ramadan”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
