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When my Lithuanian classmate who sat next to me asked whether I wanted to have lunch one day, I explained to her I was fasting and that it was the month of Ramadan. She gave me a sarcastic smile and said, ‘Well, you crazy people can starve all you want!’

On the way back home, I started thinking of how ‘crazy’ or ‘weird’ fasting could seem to some people, especially those whose lifestyle and culture are not familiar with this practice.

Trying to scrutinize my knowledge and understanding further on this matter, I came to a painful realization that I was not at all prepared to face a world which harbors so much ignorance about fasting. Why had I been fasting all this while? I had no solid answers.

So I studied, read, pondered and reflected. And began confronting the truth.

Many Muslims do not really understand why they fast. If you pick any random Muslim on the street and ask, you might get one of these answers:
That’s what I’ve been told, from a very young age.
People around (other Muslims) fast, so why don’t I?
Hello, it’s one of the five pillars!
It’s Ramadan, that’s why!
Without fasting, there’s no Eid. Bummer.
Just fast and stop asking. If I don’t fast, everyone says I’m a bad Muslim.

Reason Number #1

Unfortunately, none of the above is true. These distorted ideas have been long propagated by some ignorant Muslim societies as a ‘short cut’ to avoid real discussions and easily deal with those who question. Delving deeper into the subject, I discovered that God had answered my question 1400 years ago. In Chapter 2 verse 183, God says,


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“Oh you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you many learn piety and righteousness."

So the purposes of fasting were piety (God-consciousness) and righteousness. In simpler words, the objectives of fasting are first; to draw our hearts closer to God and second; to instill virtue, goodness and morality in us.

How can fasting make us closer to God, or teach goodness? Can’t we be religious and good without fasting? People who don’t fast aren’t necessarily bad, are they?

The real definition and practice of fasting extend beyond simply abstaining ourselves from food and drinks. Fasting also means self-restraint, from everything and anything that may displease God or go against the principles of decency. When we fast, we don’t eat or drink except at the right time, we don’t speak except for good words, we don’t perform except for beneficial deeds and we do not allow our hearts to be occupied by anything except for God, righteousness and all that is constructive.

Physically, fasting makes us hungry. Hunger makes one weak and vulnerable. Being in this condition reminds us that as humans, we are never self-sufficient and that without continuous nourishment, we cannot survive.

So we are taught two things: that we are dependent beings with a constant need for a greater power, and how little gratitude we have shown all this while in the midst of enjoying the abundance of food. We eat and drink a lot, but rarely thank the Provider. Often we waste, carelessly spend and spoil ourselves without any sense of guilt or responsibility, despite being aware that millions out there suffer from unimaginable hunger and poverty.

Fasting and Science

Fasting has other advantages. Scientists have long promoted this practice as a way of keeping the body healthy and young. In fact, many doctors say that the less you eat the longer you live, and that occasional fasting has immense health benefits. It is also a known fact that many chronic diseases today are caused by over-eating and unhealthy dietary patterns.

But hey, I am not interested in science as a way of proving the importance of fasting. My previous encounters with similar issues have taught me a good lesson: Quran is a book of signs, not science. Living in a world ruled by scientific advancements does not make us obliged to always validate God’s rulings with science. If God’s commands are compatible with some scientific theories, I would rather take that as a sign of His infinite wisdom, and that the laws of nature surely have no choice but to be subservient to their Creator.

However, if they seem incompatible with each other, be mindful that science and all its theories are never absolute. They change from time to time. Scientists may declare today that drug A is the most effective treatment for a certain disease, only to find out ten years later that it actually causes the body more harm than good. Similarly, who can guarantee that all the quantum physics theories will remain as they are, fifty years from now?

World Hunger and Poverty

When we fast, we are able to grasp the reality of hunger through a firsthand experience. We feel the discomfort of a growling stomach and that desperate craving for something nice to pacify our tummies. We start imagining all kinds of delicious foods as sunset approaches. Does that remind us of someone, or something?

I flipped through few magazines and discovered some shocking facts:
Roughly, 925 million people are afflicted by hunger, every day.
The world produces enough food for 7 billion of its inhabitants, but hunger is still widespread.
In 2010, it was estimated that 7.6 million children- 20,000 a day- died from hunger.
Poverty is the principal cause of hunger.
The number of hungry grew in Africa over the period, from 175 million to 239 million, with nearly 20 million added in the last few years.
Developed regions also saw the number of hungry rise, from 13 million in 2004-2006 to 16 million in 2010-2012.

I closed my eyes and thought of all the innocent children who remain hungry day after day, having nothing left but their imagination of a possibly bright future, the gullible babies who are born underweight because the mothers have been undernourished, the toddlers who do not have enough to eat and succumb to simple, preventable diseases, men who starve in order to feed their wives and children and women who starve to make sure their babies are fed.

Reason Number #2

Had I not fasted, I would not have understood the difficulty and pain of hunger. People may know some facts and feel sorry for the needy, but genuine solidarity with the less fortunate can only be realized through experiencing the same harsh conditions that they grapple with, on a daily basis.

One will not truly understand what it means to be a Palestinian living under siege in Gaza, until he stays there and sees for himself the daily oppression taking place.

One cannot grasp the fear and horror of Syrian children living in trapped districts where bombshells are dropped every few hours, until he goes through similar events.

The same applies to hunger and poverty. Unless we carry part of the burden on our shoulders, we will never understand the grief and torment of starvation and we will not fully digest the meaning of empathy.

So that is how morality and virtue is instilled through fasting. From now on the sight of a beggar will not annoy me, for the month of Ramadan has given me a professional training on what hunger is all about, and how to treat the needy. This holy month has infused into my soul the spirit of compassion and empathy. I now see the have-nots as my beloved equals, not a financial or societal burden as taught in many text books.

Upon understanding this beautiful ritual of fasting and the reason it is prescribed, I feel at ease. It is true that knowledge and understanding gives you the confidence and eloquence to face the world, no matter how ruthless or skeptical it might be towards Ramadan and the concept of fasting. The next time someone labels me ‘crazy’ for showing unity with the needy and hungry, I am more than ready with the answer. But before that, I will proudly say, ‘Yes, I’m that crazy starving Muslim!’

http://www.onislam.net/english/family/your-society/487583-that-crazy-starving-muslim.html

A girl arranges plates before iftar – the breaking-fast meal– during Ramadan at the Grand Mosque in Delhi, India. Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters

Forty Years of Heartbreak: Let the People of Diego Garcia Return to their Homeland - huffingtonpost

Over a weekend of memorials, I was remembering a friend who died of a broken heart. Her death certificate may not say so, but she did. Aurélie Lisette Talatedied last year at 70 of what members of her community call, in their creole language, sagren--profound sorrow.

Madame Talate, as many called her, was a stick-thin, strong-biceped woman. She ate almost nothing, smoked a lot, and spoke with a power that earned her the nickname ti piman--little chili pepper--because the littlest chilies are the hottest and fiercest. Then again, on the rare occasions when she smiled, she smiled like a little girl.

Madame Talate died of sagren because the U.S. and British governments exiled her and the rest of her Chagossian people from their homeland in the Indian Ocean's Chagos Archipelago to create a secretive military base on Chagos's largest island, Diego Garcia.

This month marks the fortieth anniversary of the final deportations, when the last boatload of Chagossians arrived 1,200 miles from their homes, on the western Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and the Seychelles. In those same forty years, the base on British-controlled Diego Garcia helped launch the Afghan and Iraq wars and was partof the CIA's secret "rendition" program for captured terrorist suspects.

The history of the base, which the U.S. military calls the "Footprint of Freedom," dates to the 1950s and 1960s. By then, Chagossians had been living in the previously uninhabited Chagos islands for almost 200 years, since their ancestors arrived as enslaved Africans and indentured Indians. In 1965, after years of secret negotiations, Britain agreed to separate Chagos from colonial Mauritius (contravening UN decolonization rules) to create a new colony, the British Indian Ocean Territory. In a secret 1966 agreement, Britain gave U.S. officials base rights on Diego Garcia and agreed to take those "administrative measures" necessary to remove the nearly 2,000 Chagossians in exchange for $14 million in secret U.S. payments.

Beginning in 1968, any Chagossians who left Chagos for medical treatment or regular vacations in Mauritius were barred from returning home, marooning them often without family members and almost all their possessions. British officials soon began restricting food and medical supplies to Chagos. Anglo-American officials designed a public relations plan aimed at, as one British bureaucrat said, "maintaining the fiction" that Chagossians were migrant laborers rather than a people with roots in Chagos for five generations or more. Another British official called them "Tarzans" and "Man Fridays."

In 1971, the U.S. Navy's highest-ranking admiral, Elmo Zumwalt, issued the final deportation order in a three-word memo ringing of Joseph Conrad's Kurtz:

"Absolutely must go."

British agents, with the help of Navy Seabees, quickly rounded up the islanders' pet dogs, gassing and burning them in sealed cargo sheds. They ordered Madame Talate and the remaining Chagossians onto overcrowded cargo ships. During the deportations, which took place in stages until May 1973, most Chagossians slept in the ship's hold atop guano--bird crap. Prized horses stayed on deck. By the end of the five-day trip, vomit, urine, and excrement were everywhere. At least one woman miscarried.

Arriving in Mauritius and the Seychelles, Chagossians were literally left on the docks. They were homeless, jobless, and had little money, and they received no resettlement assistance. In 1975, the Washington Post broke the story in the Western press and found them living in "abject poverty." Most remain deeply impoverished to this day.

Soon after Madame Talate arrived in Mauritius, two of her sons died. Madame Talate experienced fainting spells, couldn't eat, and became remarkably skinny after being, in her words, "fat" in her homeland.

"I had something that had been affecting me for a long time, since we were uprooted" from Diego Garcia, she told me. "This sagren, this shock.... And it was this same problem that killed my child," she continued. "We weren't living free like we did in our natal land. We had sagren when we couldn't return."

Scores more Chagossians have reported deaths from sadness and sagren. They are not alone. Reports of deaths from a broken heart abound, including among elderly forced into nursing homes and other indigenous and displaced peoples. In my own family, my grandmother recounts how her mother died of a broken heart after sending her 13-year-old son from Nazi Germany to Amsterdam in 1938, where he was ultimately deported to Auschwitz and murdered. When she died, her doctor said she died of a broken heart. "The guilt she carried with her ultimately just broke her heart," my grandmother explains. "Yes. It's possible."

In fact, medical research increasingly supports such claims: one study suggests that acute stress can bring on fatal heart spasms in people with healthy cardiac systems;another indicates that the death of a spouse or child can cause dangerous heart rhythms, potentially increasing the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death.

Before her death, Madame Talate helped lead her people in demanding the Anglo-American powers return them to their homeland. Sadly, after forty years, too many Chagossians like Madame Talate have died brokenhearted, with the two governments still refusing to let them go home.

Recently the heartbreak has mounted. In 2008, after three lower courts in Britain had ruled the expulsion illegal, Britain's highest court overturned those rulings by a 3-2 margin, upholding the government's colonial right to exile a people. Last year, the European Court of Human Rights dismissed the Chagossians' final appeal on procedural grounds.

A day after the European court ruling, the Obama administration rejected the demands of an online petition signed by some 30,000 asking the White House to "redress wrongs against the Chagossians." The administration sidestepped U.S. responsibility and said Britain has been doing enough to address "the hardships they endured."

To make matters worse, in 2010, the British government created a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Chagos. Officials denied it was an attempt to prevent a return no matter the court rulings. Then a secret Wikileaks cable revealed a senior British official saying, "Former inhabitants would find it difficult, if not impossible, to pursue their claim for resettlement on the islands if the entire Chagos Archipelago were a marine reserve." U.S. officials agreed the MPA would likely "be the most effective long-term way to prevent" resettlement. Adding insult to injury, the British official repeated his predecessor's racist slur, saying the MPA would allow no "Man Fridays."

Shockingly, British judges presiding over a Chagossian legal challenge to the MPA last month ruled the Wikileaks cable inadmissible as evidence because it violates diplomatic privilege. British and U.S. authorities will "neither confirm nor deny" its authenticity.

Repeatedly our leaders in the White House and Congress and their British allies have turned their backs on the injustice our nations committed against a small people. The Chagossians, who now number some 5,000, don't want to remove the base on Diego Garcia. They simply want to return (and, for many elders, die) where their ancestors are buried and receive proper compensation.

It's long past time our country acknowledges its responsibility for the Chagossians' exile and ensures these demands are met. Especially compared to the billions we've spent on Diego Garcia, it would take pennies to help repair the lives of those who've suffered for the base.

After forty years of exile and too many broken hearts, it's long past time we let the Chagossians go home.

Chagos Islanders attack plan to turn archipelago into protected area - TheGuardian

The 55 islands and the sparkling seas around them are famed for their clean waters and pristine coral reefs. They are described by naturalists as the "other Galapagos", "a lost paradise" and a "natural wonder" and are officially recognised as a biodiversity hotspot of global importance.

This week the British government, backed by nine of the world's largest environment and science bodies, including the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the Royal Society, the RSPB and Greenpeace, is expected to signal that the 210,000 sq km area around the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean will become the world's largest marine reserve. If it does, all fishing, collection of corals and hunting for turtles and other wildlife will be banned across an area twice the size of the British isles.

More than 275,000 people from more than 200 nations have sent messages in support of Britain's full protection of the Chagos Islands and their surrounding waters, but one group is distinctly uneasy.

The original Chagossians, who were deported between 1967 and 1973 to make way for a giant US nuclear air force base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, say they would in effect be barred from ever returning because the marine protection zone would stop them fishing, their main livelihood. "There would be a natural injustice. The fish would have more rights than us," said Roch Evenor, secretary of the UK Chagos Support Association, who left the island when he was four.

The islanders, who number about 4,000 and live in exile in Britain, Mauritius and elsewhere, have battled through the British courts for nearly 20 years for the right to return and appeared to have won an important victory in 2000 when the then foreign secretary, Robin Cook, decided in their favour. But following the September 11 attacks, the UK government reversed Cook's decision and the Chagos case has migrated between courts. Most recently, the House of Lords ruled against them after Britain cited American security concerns. Their last hope is that the European court of human rights will overturn the decision in their favour in the next few months.

Today, Chagossian supporters accused the government of duplicity. "The British government's plan for a marine protected area is a grotesquely transparent ruse designed to perpetuate the banning of the people of Mauritius and Chagos from part of their own country," said Ram Seegobin, of the Mauritian party Lalit de Klas, in a letter to Greenpeace seen by the Guardian. "The conservation groups have fallen into a trap. They are being used by the government to prevent us returning," said Evenor.

They were backed by Clive Stafford Smith, director of the human rights groupReprieve, who has challenged the UK government on the use of Diego Garcia by the US to render suspected terrorists. "The truth is that no Chagossian has anything like equal rights with even the warty sea slug. There is no sense that the British government will let them go back. The government is not even contemplating equal rights for Chagossians and sea slugs."

Supporters of the islanders also suspect that the timing of the announcement of the protected area is highly political. "Clearly, the British government is preparing a fall-back plan; if they lose the case in Europe, then there will be another 'reason' for denying the banished people their right of return," said Olivier Bancoult, a Chagossian leader in Mauritius.

Today, scientists and conservationsists denied that they were being "used" by the government.

"The UK government agrees that a marine protection area will not create a barrier for the Chagossians to return. The two issues are separate. If the Chagossians are given a right to return, any conservation measures will be adjusted. The aim is to protect the reserve now so that the resources there would be available for the Chagossians if and when they return. As it is, the seas there are being heavily depleted by French and Taiwanese fleets," said a spokeswoman for the US-basedPew environment group, which is expected to contribute millions of dollars to establish the reserve.In a letter on its website, Greenpeace said: "[We] acknowledge and support the Chagossians in their struggle, and hope that they are successful. But at the moment, the Chagos Islands are being administered by the UK government, and whatever way you look at it, taking steps to protect the marine life there is a good idea. If and when the Chagossians are repatriated, then the protection of the seas around the archipelago will need to be readdressed, and yes, that may well involve allowing fishing by the islanders."

But David Snoxell, former high commissioner to Mauritius, said the marine reserve would set up a significant barrier to the Chagossians' return. "The environment groups were beguiled [into giving their support]. If the government were to designate a protection area they would be erecting a psychological, legal and economic barrier against the Chagossians, and send a strong message that they would not be welcome in their homeland. It would be highly prejudicial."

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Almost everyone will agree that Singapore is currently a well-developed and an economically thriving nation. Its efforts to attain such levels of development commenced after its political independence during 9 August 1965. It is interesting to note that Maldives gained political independence two weeks prior to Singapore. But Maldives remains well behind in comparison. However, in terms of resources per capita and strategic location, we are not inferior to them. Today they are among the richest nations with a very high standard of living, while the majority of our population are victims of economic slavery without adequate access to clean water, sanitation, health facilities and education. Where did we go wrong? How were we made victims of economic slavery by a very powerful group of people?

Did you know that there was an iniquitous poll tax called vaaru, levied on Maldivians who were residents of islands other than Malé? This tax was abolished during Ibrahim Nasir's term at office. However, the islanders still had to take prior approval from the government in order to visit Male'. This rule was abolished by President Maumoon. Such harsh treatment towards the people in the islands resulted in uprisings against government on several occasions notably the rebellion in Suvadive Republic.

Suvadive Republic was a short-lived breakaway nation in the remote Southern Atolls of the Maldives. The alleged causes of a creating a separation included the centralistic policies of the government and iniquitous taxes, racism and humiliation largely aimed at the islanders. To suppress the revolt in the southern atolls, the government brutally attacked islands such as Thinadhoo where people were ruthlessly killed, women raped and many burnt in their homes. Nasir's officials established the new atoll offices in the looted houses. The new policemen from Male' behaved unethically. Some accounts suggest that women were often victims of assault. A testimonial of an elderly in Huvadhu in 1997 quoted 'They wore shorts and drank alcoholic toddy. A woman couldn't even go to the mosque to get water without being harassed! People were arrested and assaulted and women were often raped. Some were made pregnant." (Source: Maldives Culture Website) Most of these cases were not prosecuted and the injustice remained unanswered. Police brutality & violence has been a routine throughout the history.

After the uprisings against economic inequality and caste system, the politicians realised that the most effective way of controlling people will be to control how they think. Mass propaganda through media which was controlled by the state focused on symbols and slogans of nationalism and patriotism. Language and heritage, religion, values and beliefs were promoted with patriotic songs as a way to keep people united no matter how barbaric government policies will become.

People were made to believe that this is a poor country with very limited resources, while few kept on looting resources and getting rich. Propaganda and religion played a huge role in public perception that wealth was a gift granted by God in order to test the faith of people. This made the public to believe that the corrupt rich got wealth as a gift from God. Religion was also used as a mean of indoctrinating the masses to force them to be content with what they have and not question the authority. Finally people would happily accept poverty and injustice.

If you look at Maldivian history, you will understand that the wealthiest people who control the country now, acquired their wealth by either illegally making a government company their own, or transferring assets and resources of government to their businesses without any compensation. They managed to do this by making deals with politicians, with a promise that they will fund, promote and control people to safeguard the governments & politicians for years to come.

One reason why people in power let corruption get in their way of better judgment was because they were aware that economic freedom will liberate the people which will make it difficult to control them. Thus they limited economic activities by making laws to favor their business and used religion as an excuse. For example, in 1984, after lobbying from resort owners, guesthouse tourism was prohibited, which gave monopoly of foreign currency income and employment to a few very powerful people.

It is a fact that there were times when other regions in Maldives were more developed and economically sufficient than Male' region. After uprisings in northern & southern atolls, central government in Male' region decided to halt major economic activities, resulting in less employment opportunities. Government’s decision to not equally allocate resources to the northern and southern atolls of Maldives resulted in underdevelopment of these regions compared to central atolls. As a result of socio economic hardships created by underdevelopment, Male’ atoll and surrounding areas became a pull zone for domestic immigration. Consecutively, over the years this led to an uneven distribution of population around the country which was the main cause of the major problems being faced by Maldives today (such as congestion, lack of basic facilities and income disparity).

The intentionally “forced” migration led to economic slavery creating social problems such as drug abuse, social problems, poverty, crimes & lots of mental diseases we see all throughout the country. The biggest challenge we face today is to convince the people that they are victims of economic slavery. What we must remember is poverty and injustice is not natural, it is man-made. George Orwell once stated in an essay named "Notes on Nationalism" that nationalism is ‘the worst enemy of peace’, as it gives us a false feeling of freedom. Real freedom is economic freedom, not waving a flag.

Recently initiated population consolidation plans arouses suspicion, because it could reduce number of inhabited islands thus reducing prospect for guest house tourism in these islands which would be economically beneficial to eradicate disparity. Last year, a new plan was initiated by the government to introduce Special Economic Zones (SEZ). SEZ takes power away from the people, local government and elected officials, concentrating wealth under a centralized authoritarian government. The rich are afforded huge tax cuts, while the rest struggles with indirect taxation and inflation. Lack of a minimum wage, human trafficking, regressive tax system, and gap between rich poor makes Maldives a nightmare for the poor & middle classes. Read our article on SEZ here http://minivannews.com/…/comment-sez-bill-opens-doors-for-e…

Over the years, laws made by parliament members funded by the rich, and propaganda via media controlled by the rich have kept us in economic slavery until the age of information which made us think. The uprisings have started, but differently. Educate yourself, educate others.

By ~ The Maldivian Economist