Ramadan Kareem
Ramadan Kareem to all Muslims of the world, hope this holly month will bring peace and happiness all over the world. For the non Muslims I want to explain few traditions of Ramadan.
Ramadan is the month were our holly Quran was revealed to our prophet Mohammed. In this month all Muslims fast from sun rise to sun set. They don’t eat or drink anything between that time. They should pure their hearts and minds as well as their body and be near to God and his holly book, more prayers more supplications and everything that make us closer to God. Many men and women go to the Mosques for the night prayers even if they are not used to go there in other days of the year.
Ramdan is a tiring month, you can’t have enough sleep in it especially if you have to wake up early in the morning and go to work. Because you have to wake up around 4 am in the morning to have a meal and drink enough water for the whole day, pray and read Quran. Many don’t wake up at this time, and eat before they go to bed so they can wake up early, but if you have a big family it is nice to wake up early in the morning and eat together, some people do it as a tradition of Ramadan.
For us (women) we get tired from preparing different kinds of food for the Fotoor (breaking the fast). We should prepare the soup and in Iraq they like ADDAS (lentil) alot. then the main dish which usually contains rice with some kinds of a vegetable sauce, Iraqis like rice a lot and they don’t feel full if they don’t eat it. We also prepare a different kind of food beside the rice like sandwiches, Kabab, Tuka, and other meals. We should prepare the Juice and the desert. Most of the Iraqi people like Baqlawa for the desert which is kind of pastry filled with pistachio and sugar syrup. We usually buy this from the market.
In this month we have fotoor with others in the family, parents, friends, so you can meet many people in this month in the fotoor.
Before the end of this holly month people start to get ready for Eid, in which we buy new cloths for all the family and prepare for the Eid preparations ( I will talk about it when the Eid is near ).
This is how Ramadan used to be. But now things changed a lot for worse since the fall of Baghdad. It is hard to see many friends because the roads are not that safe and you can’t stay late at night as it used to be. you may have your Fotoor without electricity or you prepare it on the light of the candles. The first day of Ramadan there were a large noise of a fighter airplanes all over the evening, It gives you a sense of being uncomfortable while eating your meal that something bad had happened or is going to happen. the next day of Ramdan we woke up on the sounds of explosions, which we found later that some terrorist put bombs in front of some churches and we don’t know what will happen the rest of the month.
Ramadan is the month were our holly Quran was revealed to our prophet Mohammed. In this month all Muslims fast from sun rise to sun set. They don’t eat or drink anything between that time. They should pure their hearts and minds as well as their body and be near to God and his holly book, more prayers more supplications and everything that make us closer to God. Many men and women go to the Mosques for the night prayers even if they are not used to go there in other days of the year.
Ramdan is a tiring month, you can’t have enough sleep in it especially if you have to wake up early in the morning and go to work. Because you have to wake up around 4 am in the morning to have a meal and drink enough water for the whole day, pray and read Quran. Many don’t wake up at this time, and eat before they go to bed so they can wake up early, but if you have a big family it is nice to wake up early in the morning and eat together, some people do it as a tradition of Ramadan.
For us (women) we get tired from preparing different kinds of food for the Fotoor (breaking the fast). We should prepare the soup and in Iraq they like ADDAS (lentil) alot. then the main dish which usually contains rice with some kinds of a vegetable sauce, Iraqis like rice a lot and they don’t feel full if they don’t eat it. We also prepare a different kind of food beside the rice like sandwiches, Kabab, Tuka, and other meals. We should prepare the Juice and the desert. Most of the Iraqi people like Baqlawa for the desert which is kind of pastry filled with pistachio and sugar syrup. We usually buy this from the market.
In this month we have fotoor with others in the family, parents, friends, so you can meet many people in this month in the fotoor.
Before the end of this holly month people start to get ready for Eid, in which we buy new cloths for all the family and prepare for the Eid preparations ( I will talk about it when the Eid is near ).
This is how Ramadan used to be. But now things changed a lot for worse since the fall of Baghdad. It is hard to see many friends because the roads are not that safe and you can’t stay late at night as it used to be. you may have your Fotoor without electricity or you prepare it on the light of the candles. The first day of Ramadan there were a large noise of a fighter airplanes all over the evening, It gives you a sense of being uncomfortable while eating your meal that something bad had happened or is going to happen. the next day of Ramdan we woke up on the sounds of explosions, which we found later that some terrorist put bombs in front of some churches and we don’t know what will happen the rest of the month.
posted by rose at 11:55 PM
25 Comments:
Hi Rose,
I hope you and your family have a great Ramadan.
Stay safe,
From John
Thank you Rose for writing about Ramadan.
In America, Thanksgiving in July is an important occasion, but in the rest of the old British world (Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand) we don't have that, Christmas/New Year is the year's end when families get together. Christmas has religious significance, but for most people it is now more of a secular celebration. We eat a lot more, not less. The nearest to Ramadan is the old Christian observation of Lent, the period before Easter when devout Christians sacrifice a pleasure such as drinking. But there are decreasing numbers of devout Christians in the West today. There are many Fundamentalist Christians in America but I don't think they observe Lent.
My family and I will spend Christmas quietly at a beautiful holiday getaway, where we will walk on one of our endless golden beaches, listening to the songs of the sea. God only knows what will have happened to you by then.
Why do these insane American barbarians have to keep bombing your poor country during Ramadan? Why can't they leave Fallujah alone for a month?
What is wrong with these people?
Greetings from Somerset, USA. By comparison to the people of Europe, Americans could be considered barbarians. That is to say that while the Europeans are sitting comfortably and ignorantly in thier easy chairs, our people are working and innovating and doing. Ask the Poles about how willing Europe is to help someone in time of crisis. Sure, we can be rough around the edges, but that's part of what makes us American. From where I am sitting, that is also something we seem to have in common with the Iraqi people. The innovation and determination that the Iraqi people have shown in rebuilding is something that many Americans admire and rightly so. That roughness is why Americans have walked on the moon and why our people are willing to take the steps required to stop a threat before it grows out of control. The idea is that fewer die now rather than many more later.
For Ramadan, I wish you and your family well. Here in America, we are coming up on the holiday season that includes a fair number of various religious and secular holidays one after the other. The closest is Halloween followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. People take it as they like. Some with piety and some without piety. And yes, some of us do celebrate Lent as well as Ramadan. This year I will celebrate Christmas while some of my freinds will celebrate Kwanza, Ramadan and Chaunaka. And those are just my friends. Our holiday foods vary according to the family's ethnic and religious traditions. My family, being rather Americanized, will have a Turkey dinner this Thanksgiving and again at Christmas. Since we originally came from the Ukraine, we will also have perogies and kelbasa. We will also have bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, ice cream, green beans and broccoli. My great aunt makes wonderful sugar cookies that we all enjoy as well. Of course, if spend Thanksgiving with my wife's family we will still have turkey, but we will also have a lot of Italian dishes. My mother in law emigrated from Italy and so brought some great cooking skills with her. It's a totally different experience to eat with that side of the family.
I find it's often hard for others to understand that America is made up of many different cultures and peoples, yet all are still American. To an outsider, it must seem like a dizzying array of confusion and sometimes it is. But that diversity is also what gives us strength. Ours is a culture of struggle and competiton. Ideas, religions and cultures all blend and merge here as people take what they can use from each. This makes us a nation without an understanding of history, but neither are we shacked by it. I can see the makings of the same thing in Iraq, but it's not something your people may want. This sort of thing can't be imposed.
Americans have no animosity towards anyone who doesn't want to kill us. If, however, you are creeping around some dark alley looking to hurt us, then no place will be safe and nothing sacred except your death. I am sorry that we had to visit destruction upon you and your family, since you had nothing personally to do with why we attacked. I am sorry that your holiday will be diminished because of the war. I pray that you will have better times in Ramadans to come. Good luck and stay safe.
Cool. My best friend from my childhood is Muslim, so I've learned about Ramadan before. I don't think he does everything you described, but then, he doesn't have so much extended family in the area.
For me, on top of the American holidays, the Harvest Moon holiday (which is a poor-at-best translation from Chinese) just passed. Chinese New Year is the big one, but it'll be a few months before we get there.
On the church bombings . . .
The way I was taught about Islam is that it respects and accepts Jews and Christians as, I guess, cousins if not brothers in the worship of God. That Moses and Jesus were earlier prophets of the same God of the prophet Mohammed. Therefore, just from a religious aspect (not withstanding geo-political stuff), Jews and Christians are welcome in Muslim lands.
Was I taught wrong?
If I was taught right, what religion-based justification could there possibly be for bombing churches (ie, houses of worship of the one God) in Iraq?
johnny,
I'm a former US soldier myself, so as fair warning, my natural reaction is to defend my own.
My impression is that the Brits have performed admirably in their mission, in their sectors. I have never known a US soldier to hold his British counterpart with less than respect. However, it's misleading to equate the conditions the Brits have worked under in Iraq to the conditions in the American sectors, particularly in the so-called 'Sunni Triangle'. My understanding is that the most difficult areas in Iraq (eg, Fallujah), from the start, have consistently been assigned to Americans while the relatively stable areas to the South and North have been assigned to other members of the multinational coalition. Thus, there has been a misconception that US military presence leads to instability (see Rose's trip to the Kurdish area) when in fact, the US military is stationed in force in certain areas BECAUSE they are the most unsafe. Case in point. When Muqtada al-Sadr tried to start his revolution from the holy city of Najaf, which is/was in a non-US sector, US forces took the lead, along with Iraqi forces, to confront him.
That's not to say our guys have performed man-for-man as well as the Brits, I don't know that, just that the breadth and difficulty of the British mission in Iraq isn't the same as the American mission. Our guys are tasked to do the heaviest lifting of Iraq's multinational allies.
To Johnny from John
Well I certainly didn't mean to give that impression and I'm sorry if I did or caused Rose any offence. Perhaps I should have added "Stay safe" or something similiar. I was trying to tell her that there are people in the West who try to live without arrogance, anger and hatred.
Actually I am not at all wealthy, our holiday home will be borrowed from a friend, and you don't have to be rich to walk on a beach here. Not yet anyway.
Cheers.
"Why do these insane American barbarians have to keep bombing your poor country during Ramadan?"
She stated in her post that terrorists bombed the church. Way to distort reality, though. It appears as though your reading skills are as poor as your grasp on American culture...Thanksgiving's in November, not July. A lot of us do celebrate Lent...and Chanukah...and Ramadan...or any holiday that your religion celebrates. If you're going to make such strong, generalized assertions about a country and their people, then maybe you should learn a little bit about them first. And not be such an ass.
We're not barbarians. Our religous festivals aren't pagan sacrifices of virgins and babies...like some smug prick would lead you to believe.
Sorry for detracting from the spirit of the thread. Happy Ramadan to you. I hope your future ones are more similar to the cherished ones in your memory.
This is Somerset posting again. Good day Rose, I hope today finds you well. I am here to respond to another poster. A previous poster said that the Coalition forces in Iraq are trying to "win the peace". I would have to disagree.
As big and messy as it is, Iraq is a battle. The war is against the fascists who want to turn Islam into an excuse for mass murder and subjugation. That war is being fought right now in Iraq. No one wants to inflict death on the innocent. Unfortunately, when the not-so-innocent hide amongst civilians and the civilians do nothing, then bad things start to happen. If you let people get away with hiding behind hostages, then they will do it at every turn. By trying to shoot around the hostages, be they a single man with a gun to his head or a crowd of school children, but being willing to hit the hostages too our forces can discourage the practice in future. That is why the US does not negotiate with hostage takers. That is also why our soldiers call for authorization to "take out" a street full of mostly civilians. Soldiers' jobs are to kill people and break things. They have a rough job that is based in harsh reality not in political correctness. When any side deploys soldiers to a war zone it must be done with the knowledge that a certain amount of innocent blood will be spilled. The idea, as I understand it, is to balance those innocent lives against the value of the soldiers' objectives.
At least, that's how it works for well-meaning western nations.
My point about the Poles is that when they needed help, NO ONE was there for them. They have, by their participation, proven themselves better than those who let Poles die alone in past conflicts.
Peace to you, Rose.
johnny,
Rules of engagement are largely affected by the situation and the mission. If Brits and Americans have different rules of engagement in their respective areas, they are dictated by different circumstances. As I said, the US military in Iraq is tasked with the most unsafe areas and deal with the most dangerous people. The Brits are not, though again, that is not to say the British mission in Iraq has been easy nor is it meant to detract from British success in Iraq. I believe there is a debate right now in Parliament over reassigning some of the British contingent to support the US Army in more volatile areas.
The US military is as sensitive to non-combatant casualties as the Brits. It doesn't set out to target non-combatants nor does it simply calculate in 'collateral damage' as a standard price of business. But there is an enemy in Iraq who by tactic and strategy does those things, who is largely resistant to 'hearts and minds' efforts by non-Iraqis and Iraqis alike, and that enemy must be engaged for the sake of establishing the foundation of security, stability and control that Iraq needs.
I have no problem giving credit where credit is due. If or when the British military better engages the same situations in Iraq - as an American, I'm not too proud to ask for help in those situations - then I will change my mind. That said, I don't discount that certain American units should be more nuanced. Within the US military, there is much talk about certain units performing better than others at SASO. In particular, I know that US Marines, who pride themselves on their small-unit level capabilities, like to blame the US Army 'machine' for losing Iraqi hearts and minds the Marines felt they had won over immediately after the major combat phase and regime change.
From John
It seems that my reference to "barbarians" may have been a bit over the top, and I'm sorry if I've caused a note of bitterness to enter Rose's blog.
I can't say I'm totally repentant though. I mean, look at the figures:
1) 70 per cent of the people in cities are women and young children, aren't they? Samarrah and Fallujah are cities, aren't they? (There have been reports that the Marines have been preventing civilians from leaving, but even I can't believe that.)
One lasting image from this occupation may be the clip from Samarrah of a man holding up a dead child and screaming at the camera, "Is this an insurgent, Allawi? Is this an insurgent?"
2. This fuss over the Black Watch going north:
Look at the figures (from icasualties.org)
Fatal casualties during invasion:
Yanks 139 Brits 33
Can't say the Brit's had it easy there!
Fatal casualties, May 83 to June 94
Yanks 715 Brits 27
There was a rise in unrest in Basra during the Najaf battle. That's when N.Z. decided not to continue its Army Engineer deployment, because they weren't getting any work done (building schools, installing irrigation etc.) This may have been a bit hasty, because:
Fatal casualties since June 94
Yanks 248 Brits 8
Sure the South may have been a cushier billet, but 12,000 Brits and Its to say 5 million Iraqis is about 415 locals to each soldier. 130,000 Yanks to say 15 million Iraqis (forget the Kurds) is about 115 locals to each soldier.
But both occupation armies started out from the same initial state - remember it took quite a while to settle that southern oil port down?
I'm afraid the over-riding impression is that the aggressive U.S. tactics have been fueling the insurgency as much as they have been curbing it, and are still doing so. And leaving a legacy of lasting hatred. After all, you're looking at say 20 Iraqi casualties for every Coalition casualty. Figure 7 wounded for each one killed, and work out the maths.
Remember Vietnam? "We had to destroy the village in order to save it." Remember My Lai? What was the slaughter at Makr AlDeeb but My Lai from the air?
The Kiwis and Aussies put in several years in Vietnam without causing huge civilian casualties.
The Kiwis in East Timor recently had a problem with Indonesian militia infiltrating the border. They didn't use air support: they went out into the bush and beat them at their own game.
So maybe I'm sorry about "barbarian," but can anyone suggest a better word?
Jon...
I was responsible for that post lambasting your barbarian comment. It irritates me that a man who has such an extensive knowledge of current events- and an equally impressive intelligence level- could make such a generalized statement routed in fallacy (your mis-statement re. the bombing episode Rose mentioned) You're paradigm, as benevolent as it is, filters a lot of truth from your argument. Yes...piss-poor planning and judgement lead to a lack of post-contigency troops and the current mess. But what do we do from here? Where's your pragmatism? You see, most Americans aren't arrogant barbarians. We got duped into this thinking it was for OUR security...and now we want to get out without totally fucking up yet another mid-east country. Maybe we could withdraw if we weren't being shot at constantly? Now there's a thought.
And don't be so quick to wash "old Britains" hands from truly indiscriminate killing and persecution. Need I mention apartheid...
nick
Another thought...if certain European powers (germany,france, russia) hadn't undermined the UN emposed sanctions on Iraq by exploiting the oil for food program- among other trade sanctions- for their benefit, then war wouldn't have been neccesary. http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq_wmd_2004/
Based upon this unscurpulous corruption, a de facto lifting of the sanctions occured...and sadaam was soon to become a threat, again. If we're thugs, then in all fairness,the EU are pimps.
If you want to continue this debate, Jon, send me an email.... nicholas.przybyciel@mcchord.af.mil You may notice it's a military address, hence my offense taken from your callous remarks to my brothers-in-arms. Sorry for pissing all over this thread. I'll shut up.
nick
From John to Nick
Please excuse any note of asperity or condescension in what follows, it’s not intended, I’m just very tired.
Clear up a bit of history first. South Africa was EXPELLED from the British Commonwealth because of Apartheid. Hell, in N.Z. we almost had a civil war in 1981 just because a redneck Prime Minister allowed a racist team from S.A. to come here. Go figure.
I feel rather like a passer-by who finds someone who has ignored the warning signs and got stuck in a quagmire. I’m going "You bloody fool, serves you right" and he’s saying "Tell me how to get out of this." Why should I? But anyway:
1) My first suggestion is, get a new President. Your present one is clearly past his use-by date, if he ever had one. Try an intelligent educated one this time.
2) If you don’t, there’s not much point in talking. Bush will just ban all news-media, and bomb Iraq into rubble. B-52’s for Christmas.
3) If you do, then I’m not qualified to give military or tactical advice, but my instincts say just COOL IT. Forget the January elections, they’re toast anyway, just PULL BACK and EASE OFF. Stop trying to subdue the cities, you’re just creating more insurgents. What do you think that guy with the dead kid is going to do - grin and shrug his shoulders? He’s going to get a gun and try to kill Americans. Wouldn’t you? Stop with the provocative patrols already, let the Iraqis have some breathing space - the result can’t be worse than what’s happening now. Gung-ho Marines are great in the right context, they fight with incredible courage in places like Iwo Jima and Frozen Chosen. But winning hearts and minds, forget it. Go talk to the Brits.
4) Or don’t. Despite Teflon Tony Blair, the Brits and the French learned long ago that owning an Empire is HARD WORK, and they gave up on it. Why do you think the French got out of Vietnam? They didn’t have enough troops, and patriots fight tough. And silly old Rummy thought that just because he got away with "Invasion-Lite," he could get away with "Occupation -Lite." Sorry, Don, not on. You haven’t got enough troops to do it right. And Bush has promised no draft. (Mind you, he hasn’t promised no "Selective Service for Freedom." Nightmares, nightmares.)
5) So look for that exit strategy, and don’t let pride stand in your way. Be strong enough to say "Shucks, we REALLY stuffed up here." Remember Vietnam: "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" The world doesn’t want to sing "Hey, hey, U.S.A. ..." We need you.
Rose, Rose, what do you think about us crazy infidels arguing over your head? Is this what you started your Blog for?
From Nick-
Rummey's small force doctrine-which WAS highly effective in Afghanistan- was the inapropriate archetype to apply to Irag. Many of our top brass expressed their reserves over this, only to get shot down.
You need to get it out of your head that we can simply get out and leave. Ireland and the IRA is just as inappropriate a model for Iraq as Afghanistan was. Iraq is so fractious that a withdrawl at this point would inevidabley create a civil war. Too many groups vieing for power. You think the body count's high now? Imagine if Saadr and the other militants were left unchecked at this point. Funny thing is, Rose has agreed in past posts to the neccesity of US troops now.
Maybe you should argue the merits of a partial US withdrawl with her. It's assanine to think that us leaving, at this point, would pacify the country.
To clear up the draft issue...it was the Democrats who pushed a bill mandating conscription. Sort of a levelling of the playing field/ class-equality thing. A message to the legislators that if you're going to send our country to war, then your son's should be fighting it, too.
And Jon, our media is already censored...so is yours. Hence your buying into everything BBC tosses down your throat. Don't believe the hype. To ignore reality is to ignore the truth. Oh, and humor me... take a glance at the Duelfer repot.
From John to Nick
I haven't suggested that you should "simply get out and leave." That would be irresponsible and immoral. It's your mess, you have to clean it up.
All I've suggested is that you should reconsider your tactics - I'm sure Rose would feel much happier if she knew that her relatives and friends were a bit safer from indiscriminate U.S. fire that is indifferent to collateral damage, and aggressive U.S. patrols that are indifferent to Iraqi feelings. And as for being "shot at constantly"(previous post,) that's what happens when you conquer countries. They wouldn't be shooting at you if you weren't there.
The British are terrible allies, aren't they? Showing that it was possible to do this in a much more sensible and civilised way?
"We got duped into this ..." (previous post.) Yes you did, I'm sure most of the U.S. military are honourable people who just want to do their duty: the responsibility for your tactical errors lies ultimately with your Commander-in-Chief and his associates. The buck stops here?
First off, let me say "Hello, Rose!" and that I hope things improve for you soon! Many people here in the U.S. (I'm a transplanted Californian living in Charleston, South Carolina) are pulling for Iraq. We hope you end up living in a free, prosperous and tolerant country within a few more years. These things take time, as we learned with Japan and Germany after World War II.
To "johnny":
"The world has seen and heard the footage of the American pilot asking for permission to 'take out' 30/40 human beings running down a street, with a laser-guided bomb."
I've seen that footage, and it sure looked to me like those people were arrayed more as a paramilitary unit would be rather than a random mob. I'm fairly sure that a) there was a general directive for no large groups of people to be running around and b) there was conclusive intelligence, either drone or recon that those people were "insurgents" (otherwise known as murderous terrorists). Was there ever an official military response to the release of that footage?
Just in case the pilot happens to run across this post, that was a fine bit of shooting, and we all appreciate your efforts and sacrifice! I know it must be hard knowing that you caused death and suffering...but that is war.
From John
Sorry to clog up the Blog, but these two items today are irresistible. Maybe I'm not a total fool after all.
General McPeak Speaks Out. "‘Certainly, we're creating more terrorists every day than we're killing,’ said McPeak, a former chief of staff during Desert Storm. The general said disenchantment with George W. Bush's leadership led to his becoming an independent. ‘If we had the same ratio of peacekeepers (in Iraq) ... that NATO has in Bosnia, we'd have 500,000 soldiers,’ he said. ‘We have 140,000. It's too small to get the job done and too big to be sustained.’"
Insufficient troops for Operation Enduring SNAFU. "The U.S. military lacks sufficient troops for post-combat ‘stability and reconstruction’ operations, and should consider adding 'significant' numbers, a review by the Pentagon's Defense Science Board found. The report lists four main options for addressing what it calls an ‘enduring shortfall’ of troops: enlarging the military, shifting combat troops to post-combat duties, turning to the United Nations or allies for assistance, or scaling back ‘the number and/or objectives of stabilization missions."
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