Word: ramadan
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Dates: during 1952-1952
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Judgment of God. Since May 25, when the first crescent moon of the month of Ramadan showed itself in the sky, some 300 million believers of the Moslem world had devoted themselves to their annual spiritual stocktaking. For 29 days, to commemorate the month when they believe the Prophet Mohammed received God's most sacred book, the Koran, Moslems fasted, prayed and meditated. Their uncompromising fast made similar Christian regulations seem lax by comparison. It required a rigid total abstinence from food and drink each day, between dawn and sunset, mostly in climates where the tropical sun is especially...
...rigidity of such customs as the fast of Ramadan has hindered the Islamic nations in adjusting themselves to a changing modern world. But the stern faith that goes with them keeps the Moslems among the world's most spiritually secure people. As a Beirut professor explained: "Ramadan is a time of reexamination. Americans might say it is a time to 'pull up your socks' and learn to stand up to difficulty ... It is the time a Moslem faces up to himself...
This week the month of Ramadan ended. Weak and often irritable from their long fasting, the world's Moslems once more began to eat, smoke and drink, much like the rest of their fellow men. (The Koran's traditional prohibition of alcohol is not strictly observed outside of the month of Ramadan.) The world of Islam, after defiantly exhibiting its separateness, once more let its identity superficially merge with an outer world of machines, nightclubs and psychiatrists, of Christianity and Communism...
...Arabic word Ramadan means literally, "The Scorcher...
Soon, a distinguished six-man Umma delegation headed for Cairo. In four formal meetings and nine if tars (sundown breakfasts during the fast month of Ramadan), the two sides narrowed down the issues. Said Egypt's Premier, Hilaly Pasha: if the Sudanese want self-government, they can have it. But first they must acknowledge King Farouk's sovereignty, and only then may they hold a plebiscite. Said the Umma leaders: if the Sudanese want to recognize Farouk's sovereignty, well & good, but first let the Sudanese decide that by a plebiscite. Neither side went...