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FeaturesYou are in: Birmingham > Faith > Features > Ramadan Blog 2009  Clare Edwards 'Ramadan Blogger' Ramadan Blog 2009by Clare Edwards, contributor and Arshia Riaz, BBC So what does it feel like to fast during Ramadan? We took one non-Muslim Birmingham woman and gave her an opportunity to experience a week - fasting. Read her blog here... From Saturday 22 August 2009 Award winning festival organiser Clare Edwards has been blogging her experience of what it feels like to fast. This blog will be updated throughout the week. This is Clare's journey: Day 1 - Saturday 22 August 2009Well for me the reality of this process hit me when, bleary eyed I got up at 3.30am this morning to have my breakfast. Porridge at that time in the morning is a pretty unattractive idea for me but I ate it, had a few grapes and lots of water. I also started my fast with a short prayer that Arshia from BBC WM gave me – and I have a selection to choose from over the next few days as my friend Halim Karam from Morroco has made me some recordings to learn too. I felt terrible when I woke up this morning. Without my morning coffee I’m not much fun but I had to pull myself together for my interview on radio WM with Mollie Green. It was really hard to do that without some water to sip on too.  Clare feeding her children As far as eating goes, today has been ok. I had a real lull at about lunchtime. After successfully feeding my kids, the dog and the family fish I started to feel the need for at least a drink and thought I was going to get a headache – so I opted to sit quietly and try to gain control of the situation mentally. That actually made me really tired but luckily a message came in from my colleague Samah Al Wahaibi from Oman who said I should keep busy and not dwell on the hunger. So I went into my study and actually did a bit of work and took my children out to the shops and I soon started to feel better, even possibly elated! Eating this evening was really good and felt like a real treat. I think I’ve had a really positive first day – it has definitely been about mind over matter and I suspect that as the novelty wears off over the next few days it might get harder but it is really difficult to tell. Day 2 - Sunday 23 August 2009So day two is a Sunday so (apart from eating breakfast at 3.30am and being on the radio briefly at 7am) I had nice lazy lie-in! The biggest challenge I am feeling so far is the lack of water and it is amazing how I find myself gravitating towards the tap naturally and then realise and have to stop myself getting a drink. I’m finding the easiest way to cope with the hunger is to focus on something and keep busy. I can see how effective fasting must be for Muslims in that you would want to focus on your faith more and the constant feeling of hunger is a great way to remind you that you are taking part in a special season (quite the opposite of Christmas of course when you feel stuffed the whole time!).  Clare opening her fast in a mosque Tonight I was invited to the Mosque by Afroze Rajabali and her family to the Iftar. I was feeling quite tired and dizzy by the time I got to the small Shia Mosque in Sparkhill the Dawoodi Bohra Reformist Jamaat however, the welcome was so warm and the buzz of excitement in the air took me through. One of my favourite sounds in the world is the call to prayer so I enjoyed hearing that up close and got to sit through the prayers and then sit with the women to eat and break the fast. I took along some dates (or kujull) as my contribution. The sense of community and the generosity (I was nearly being force fed a bit of everything!) was really great and it is easy to see what a close knit, self supporting mosque this is. As a result of tonight I have been invited back to Afroze’s family home later in the week to experience the breaking of the fast in a private house too. Straight from the mosque I went off to the Radio WM studios to complete my evening with an interview on Midlands Masala – and you can listen again to that if you missed it! Day 3 - Monday 24 August 2009Slightly scarily I needed to drive to Brighton and back today for work so I looked up the protocol for people who travel during Ramadan. I had a variety of advice from friends in Birmingham, Qatar and Saudi but it was agreed that you can break your fast to travel. However a couple of people said I would need to make up the time at the end of my fast and so I decided to try and cope so that I don’t have to extend my current fast – and I managed. Amazingly I went through a very long day in Brighton – ate my evening meal and then drove back in one piece. I’m really getting the hang of not eating or drinking for 16 hours per day.  Iftaar prayers at the mosque However, throughout today I have been struck by the images and sounds of my time in the Dawoodi Bohra Reformist Jamaat Mosque last night. For me the ritual of the fast and the eating together as a community at the end of the night made lots of sense and I certainly felt part of it. However, during the prayers (some done collectively and some done individually) I was struck by the absolute belief and conviction the people in the room had for their faith. As an Atheist who has to constantly find my own path through the tests of life I can imagine how comforting and rewarding it must be to have a strict code to adhere too. I am in no means converting – I am clear in my choice of no religion – and I will always question how people can be so sure when following a religious code. However I was definitely moved and impressed (if that is the right word) by seeing the Muslim faith up so close. Anyway as I write this I am just back from Brighton at 1am and need to be up for my breakfast at 3.30am so I will leave you until tomorrow or this blog could stop making sense! Day 4 - Tuesday 25 August 2009Today has been the toughest day so far. Following my success in getting through the drive to Brighton and back yesterday I have been very tired today.  Clare breaking her fast with a 'date' I have had a few important things to do at work today so I was very focussed on those – but once I had finished them I found it very hard to focus because of a heady mixture of fatigue and hunger (not a good combination!). I realise how important it is to look after yourself and not push yourself too hard while fasting! The other message from today is that if you think I am fasting to lose weight think again! The lack of running and eating late at night and sleeping on a full stomach after breakfast have actually caused me to put on 2 lbs this week! I actually think it is more to do with the fact that my digestive system has gone into ‘starvation mode’ and has slowed down considerably. All this has led me to be quite emotional today, realising how important the basic things in life like friendship, family and food (!) are to me and how easily the balance can be tipped if we don’t carefully consider our life choices. So after eating tonight I decided to try and have a run to get my metabolism going again – managed 20 minutes and felt a lot more human again afterwards! I have to get up in the morning to be on the WM breakfast show so another night of broken sleep ahead… Day 5 - Wednesday 26 August 2009Today started with an interview on the Phil Upton Breakfast Show on Radio WM. If you listen back to it you have to forgive the croaky voice – it is 7.40am and I haven’t got anything to drink to get me going! This morning consisted of spending time at the Custard Factory sorting out some old furniture I have left there, looking after the kids and having meetings (all at the same time)! The multitasking got a bit too much without food – but luckily I love my work and so that saw me through. Everyone I saw down there seemed to be eating and apologising to me at the same time!! I also had a job interview for a small freelance contract today – not sure how I did yet. Having a dry mouth was a challenge but I think it went well – I’ll know tomorrow and let you know too.  Clare getting Ramadan advice After the emotions of yesterday I feel much more positive today and I’ve never liked the phrase ‘emotional rollercoaster’ but I do think I might be on one. I’m elated today by my progress with the fast and I definitely think my relationship with food will be very different after this week. Only time will tell I guess but I certainly think the excesses of food that are so normal for many when so many millions of people do not have enough food is something we can all do something about. I’m just not sure how at this stage in the week. I have been touched tonight by all the comments on this blog and on Facebook. Thanks everyone your words really help, believe me! I popped out to my local shop, on Yardley Road, that I frequently use every week to buy spices and vegetables. I wanted to buy some more kujuur (or dates). This week my relationship with them has gone to a whole new level as they have advised me on my fasting and they gave me a Ramadan calendar this evening – thanks guys! Day 6 - Thursday 27 August 2009I’m afraid that today started more like a slapstick comedy than a meditative fasting process! I was so tired and wobbly when I woke up I made my porridge and took it back to bed – however, whilst putting my light on I put the porridge down on my bed and forgot it was there and sat in it! Whoops! I have to say – that much as I am enjoying the fasting process – being able to sleep through the night without getting up at 3.30am is something I am looking forward to again at the weekend. I am getting used to getting through the day without food now – my body is starting to get used to my strange eating patterns and apart from a dry mouth I don’t really have any adverse symptoms.  Clare enjoying a meal with friends Tonight I broke my fast with an Iftar meal at my friend Afroze’s house with her mum, dad, brother and sister in law. It was great to see a family approach to Iftar. There was lots of lovely food – and I had to try everything (and I wanted to!). I was also getting lots of recipe tips and suggestions as to how to finish my week of fasting with my own ‘mini Eid’ on Saturday. We had a lot to talk about too – I hadn’t realised that some years when Ramadan falls in July people have to fast until nearly ten o’clock! That would test the best fasters! We also talked a lot about the origins of the Shia Muslim religion, the affects of fasting, mac (Midlands Arts Centre), travel in India and health and safety gone mad! Generally great conversation! I have mixed feelings about only have two days left. I’m really enjoying the experience of trying fasting but I’m also looking forward to eating with my family again because currently none of my meal times match with theirs and that is a big hole in our family interaction. Day 7 - Friday 28 August 2009Today has been quite a busy day – so not a lot of time for reflection and contemplation. I managed to have two meetings where coffee was being served without wanting a coffee (maybe I could give up caffeine all together?) and I went into town to buy a few things. When I was in the Bullring, that was probably the hardest time. All the hustle and bustle, smells of food and general foot weariness made my hunger more pronounced – but shopping makes me a bit dizzy even when I’m not fasting so I’m not surprised. It is also easy to be struck by the extravagance in the shops and the cafés serving portions of food that most of us just don’t need. This has always irritated me, but I suspect now this experience will make me more acutely aware of the issue.  Clare having breakfast very early! I also talked to some other bloggers today about the experience so far and I think it is very true that you can’t get the full experience without the prayers and faith aspect to the fast. Sure, I’ve found myself thinking about how the world works, how I interact with it and the role that faith plays but I think the impact for Muslims is obviously greater. I’ve certainly enjoyed the experience of abstinence and learning to have control over my eating. That has been a revelation to me and the thrill of achievement has been great. I have been reading the comments on this blog today and I’m amazed how much response this simple experiment has received. Thank you to all of you for interacting, thanks for the invites to Iftars, the advice and your thoughts on the process. Tonight I opened my fast with a lovely Biriyani that I brought home from Afroze’s house last night. Yum. Day 8 - Saturday 29th August 2009My final day of fasting was quite difficult actually as I had a slow day – with a lie-in and not a great deal on the agenda. When I was at Afroze’s house the other night we had been talking about how many Muslims work harder during Ramadan because it is easier to fast if you are busy. This is very true!!  Clare with friends and family I spent most of the afternoon preparing for my own mini Eid celebrations in the evening. I cooked Sag Paneer and a Chickpea curry. I invited my closest friends around and my parents popped in too. I made Sev to break my fast with a recipe from my friend Nasreen (she also sent me home with some of the ingredients!). I’ve never eaten it before and I made enough to share with my friends and family. Six empty bowls later I’m guessing we all enjoyed it! Looking back on my week of fasting I feel strongly that it has been a great personal challenge, I’ve learned loads about Islam and I’ve had time to think about my relationship with food. I’ve also had lots of really good conversations with people – I’ve certainly got people talking (!) – and I’ve been impressed with how Ramadan unites and inspires Muslims all over the world. I’ve not had a big Eureka moment though. I think that for Muslims the fast is a great chance to focus on their faith and time for prayer. As a person without faith I have been much more focussed on the way fasting brings communities together and makes us think about the excesses of life and how actually we are all better people when we learn to live without them. I’m not saying I will never eat a slap up meal again (I love my food) but actually I think that I will appreciate it more. I’m also impressed and reminded by this experience how with the right mindset you can achieve all sorts of things you might not normally consider possible and that we should all from time to time go outside our comfort zone and remember to celebrate our amazing bodies and minds. And finally – I didn’t think I like dates. But I do and I will be eating them forever more! last updated: 30/08/2009 at 18:33 Have Your SayAya Wilkinson Daanish Shaikh Daanish Shaikh Khaled Aleeza - Dudley sameera Moe Farouk - Birmingham Safina Faisal imran Reem Sharaf john baptist Fakhrieh, Jordan umar walsall assad Abid Khan Yaseen Farouk - Birmingham Duraiya, Sheffield nasser, bradford Safeena Asma - Bradford Taslim Talib Huseinbhai - Bradford Taslim Talib Huseinbhai - Bradford Marwa Jasmin Ameera Thomas Yasar shahida Sebastian Sadika Lokman Anas Ifty Ahmed Amjid Lin & Barry Edwards Haroon samera ali mokhtar James clive @ we7 Setra Kumar R Shaan Tahera Janette Yasmin Annie Christopher fozia, birmingham Jaki Paul A A. Hussain Emma McAuley Julie Rick Rachel Gladstone Pasannamati Maskeen Ali halim Jane Irfan imran Ian Mr Ahmed Parvez Chowdhury Chris Atif Saadat Mumtaz SEE ALSOYou are in: Birmingham > Faith > Features > Ramadan Blog 2009 
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