The Islamic fasting month of Ramadan starts today. Many Muslims worldwide are enthusiastic about this: it is the most important month of the year for their faith. But if you can’t or don’t want to fast, it can also be a mentally difficult period if everyone around you does participate.
There are several exceptions to the obligation to fast from faith. “Illness is a very clear exemption,” says Anouar Ibn El Kadi. The 28-year-old lawyer has type 1 diabetes and therefore cannot participate without endangering his health. “From religious teachings, illness, travel or pregnancy are valid reasons not to fast.”
Ibn El Kadi pays a meal for a poor family for every day he cannot fast. That is the intention within Islam, unless you have no money for it. If your illness is not chronic, make up the missed fasting days after Ramadan. If you can’t catch up, you donate an amount that corresponds to the cost of a meal to a good cause.
‘People are ashamed and feel guilty’
Even if someone has an exemption, it can still be mentally difficult not to participate in fasting, says psychiatrist Talha Gökalp Senler. “People are still ashamed and feel guilty. That can manifest itself in different forms. One person handles it better than the other. Seeking mental support can then help.”
Omar Tanay advocates more culturally sensitive care. In addition to his work as a doctor, he is also chairman of Medic, an association that deals with health care issues for Muslim patients, among others. “Care providers do not always understand how important Ramadan can be for their patients. They then think: as a sick person you already have an exemption, why are you still being difficult?”
But in some cases, the mental pressure is so great that doctors should work more actively with those patients to explore options, says Tanay. But only if it is medically justified, he emphasizes.
Senler: “In Ramadan, togetherness is extremely important. That can lead to people trying to fast anyway, with the associated medical risks. People should always consult their doctor to see what is and is not allowed.”
Vasten tijdens de ramadan in Nederland
Het vasten tijdens de ramadan is een van de vijf zuilen van de islam. Het houdt in dat moslims tijdens de hele maand ramadan tussen zonsopgang en zonsondergang niet eten, drinken of roken. Ook onthouden moslims zich van seks tijdens het vasten.
Lang niet iedereen vast mee. Het Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau doet onderzoek naar de religieuze beleving van moslims in Nederland. De recentste cijfers stammen uit 2015.
Bijna de helft (45 procent) van de ondervraagden met een migratieachtergrond uit Turkije gaf toen aan niet alle dagen van de ramadan mee te vasten. Een kwart deed dat helemaal niet. Bij moslims met een Marokkaanse migratieachtergrond gaf 87 procent aan alle dagen te vasten. Slechts een klein deel (4 procent) zei helemaal niet te vasten.
Samen vormen de Marokkaanse en Turkse Nederlanders het grootste deel van de moslims in Nederland. Wel zijn er ook andere moslims, bijvoorbeeld uit Suriname, Somalië, Indonesië en bekeerde autochtonen.
Stop pretending
In addition to the group that wants to fast, but cannot, there is a group that can fast, but does not want to. “They too can experience pressure,” says Senler. Some keep up appearances or evade the question of whether they are fasting. “How you deal with that kind of stress and how high that peer pressure is can vary per individual.”
“If you don’t fast during Ramadan, it is immediately visible,” says the psychiatrist. “With other forms of practice, it is not always immediately clear who follows a rule of Islam and who does not. With Ramadan, you can therefore feel even more excluded.”
Tanay acknowledges that people who, for whatever reason, are not fasting can be viewed negatively. “But that is not the intention. We as Muslims in particular should be careful about attributing bad qualities or intentions to others, because that can happen to us too.”
‘Ramadan is about much more than not eating’
Ibn El Kadi himself says he never experiences pressure from others to participate. If someone does not fast because of an illness, he believes that is understandable.
What concerns him more personally is the social aspect. “If you are the only one in a group who does or does not do something, it can be confronting. I am confronted with my disability due to diabetes.” He sometimes finds it difficult to relate to others who do fast. “For example, when you have eaten and people around you are in a different flow.”
According to Ibn El Kadi, there are several misconceptions about Islam. “In the Netherlands we think that everyone as a collective always follows all the rules, while Islam is a religion that you should experience personally. You are accountable. You are spared precisely when something is not possible for you in practicing .”
Despite his diabetes, Ibn El Kadi is looking forward to Ramadan. He sees the non-eating as a small aspect of a month that has a much broader meaning. “Ramadan is about making yourself and the world just a little bit better.”
