The Cultural Practice of Ramadan Essay Example

There are various cultural practices and orientations different pf groups which are aimed at characterizing them. In this case, such cultural practices have been inherited from the ancestors who might have started them basing on various reasons. The cultural practices of different groups or society of people tend to be distinctive in such a way that it is mandatory for all the members of the group to practice them. The members who cannot subscribe to them and practice them in their daily activities might then be regarded as outsiders who are not loyal to the dictates of traditions. They might then undergo cleansing or attract penalties such as being regarded as outcasts from society. The cultural practices of various groups can be diverse in such a way that there can be a sharp contrast in the practices of such groups. In this way, both groups - under their volitions - might regard the other group as being wayward and adverse in its practices due to the ethnocentric nature, and vice versa. Such leads to cultural class. However, the common ground stands where each group optimally respects and observes its cultural orientations. For the paper case at hand, there is the exposition on the cultural practice of the Islamic group referred to as the Ramadan. It is a religious, cultural practice. It serves to promote the outsider understanding components of the paper. Its characteristics, as well as their comparison in terms of the cultural subscriptions I am in, are well brought out in the subsequent paragraphs.

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First, Ramadan is characterized by being practiced in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar (Alkandari, Maughan, Roky, Aziz, & Karli, 2012). In this case, it is observed worldwide by the Muslim group and kit it also characterized by fasting, the Muslims, in this case, believe that what had been done by their ancestors in observing the ninth holy month is a result of their prosperity. They thus maintain the month as being the one in which the religious culture of Ramadan is to be practiced. The main reason as to why Ramadan is being observed is that it acts as a commemoration of the day in which their religious book referred to as Quran was being revealed to their holy and supreme being known as Muhammad (Al-Arouj, Assaad-Khalil, Buse, Fahdil, Fahmy, Hafez, & Al-Madani, 2010). In this way, the event ought to be commemorated through the dedication of the entire ninth month to purely religious activities. It will thus indicate the extent of the respect, love, adherence to the rules and requirements of the Islamic law by Islam in their respective domains. The cultural practice is mandatory for the same period every year, and its onset is indicated by the appearance of the crescent moon on the direction of Mecca believed to be their homeland. The month, in this case, last for either twenty-nine or thirty days as determined by the appearance of the full moon in the end.

Additionally, the Ramadan cultural practice of Islam is characterized by the observation of certain modes of behavior seen on the side of the members. One of them is their mode of consumption of food. In this regard, the Islamic group members fast throughout the entire period of Ramadan. There are, however, a special group of people who can be exempted from fasting during the period. They include the sick, those who are traveling, the pregnant women, the diabetic people, those menstruating, as well as those who are breastfeeding (Almond, & Mazumder, 2011). Such exemptions, according to the Islamic group, is meant to act as a show of care as well as minding those who might have been disadvantaged in the society through their exclusion from the activities which can worsen their already dreadful situations. Therefore, the people who have been exempted from the fasting activities are permitted to take part in normal daily activities such as normal eating. As the Muslims fast, they take their meals late in the evening and early in the morning, which are specially made as per the dictates of their religious obligations.

Additionally, Muslims refrain from any adverse activities that might negatively taint their religious nature during the Ramadan period. In this instance, they include the things as lying or derogatory speeches that might adversely affect the blessing of their supreme beings from reaching them during and after the fasting period of Ramadan. In this case, they believe their god, Allah, is bound to get angry quite easily following g the religious deeds. They also believe that their god is quite sensitive and alert during the Ramadan period and that their prayers are thus bound to be heard at a more convenient way. Hence, they are also easily rebuked and punished in the event of their wrongdoings during the period of Ramadan cultural practice. They are thus bound and required to strictly observe the activities that are in line with the religious nature of the Ramadan cultural practice to attract the favor of the god Allah and hence earn blessing as per their prayers during the period. The activities which are bound to be termed adverse in this case, as per the beliefs of the Islamic group, include smoking, taking part in sexual activities, drinking liquids, cursing, or even the activity of consuming food. The Islamic group believes that spiritual rewards tend to multiply during the period of Ramadan. Therefore, the period of Ramadan for the case of the Islam group practicing them, is primarily characterized by the increased offering of prayers, undertaking of good deeds, as well as charity activities as the recitation of specific chapters in their holy, referred to as Quran (Hui, Bravis, Hassanein, Hanif, Malik, Chowdhury, & Devendra, 2010). They are practiced to symbolize the religious nature of the cultural practice alongside paying due respect to their god known as Allah.

Also, there is the activity of taking part in prayers at night by the Islamic subscribers during the period of Ramadan. In this case, the members believe that the extra night prayers are projected towards maintaining their daytime prayers and religious activities. They are also meant to keep the presence of their god quite close to them as a continuation of the daytime prayers, fasting, charity activities, as well as the discipline lifestyles. They also serve to indicate their due allegiance to the Islamic religious activities hence geared towards attracting more favors from the god Allah, in terms of the blessings from him.

In regards to the comparison of the Ramadan cultural practices to the ones in my cultural orientation, there are some notable differences. I view such a cultural practice as having some deviations from the way that the cultural practices that I am subscribed to in the long run. In this regard, in my culture there is no serious observation of the fasting practice during the specific religious activities. In my culture, there is a cultural practice practiced periodically and is mainly projected towards thanking the supreme being for his blessing during the year. In this regard, there is no fasting. There are normal meals in the day which serve as appreciating the provisions of the supreme being.

Additionally, the periodic religious observation in my culture is not characterized by the strict observation of a disciplined lifestyle during the period. The cultural practice in my community dictates that there must be the observation of a disciplined lifestyle at all times of one's existence. The observation of a disciplined lifestyle during the religious practice is only a confirmation and a continuation of the normal behaviors of an individual even during the observation of the periodic culture of religious practice. It is thus opposed to the requirements of the due observation of a disciplined lifestyle during the Ramadan period which during the normal times, the religious dictations do stress on the need to practice the same disciplined activities like the ones exercised during the Ramadan period. Besides, the periodic religious practices in my culture are done on a specific date, which is the 1st day of June each year, while that of the Islamic group known as Ramadan is practiced in the ninth month of their calendar, as indicated by the appearance of the crescent moon. Such might seem different ss they depend on the appearance of the crescent moon.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the cultural practice of Ramadan undertaken by the Islamic group is seen to be having the specific characteristic features facilitating its distinction. Such include fasting, observation of one's character and practicing of charity works, as well as refraining from any adverse way of life. Some of such activities might seem strange when it comes to m culture, such as the need to undertake to salt. Hence, there is some difference in such cultural practices.

References

Al-Arouj, M., Assaad-Khalil, S., Buse, J., Fahdil, I., Fahmy, M., Hafez, S., ... & Al-Madani, A. (2010). Recommendations for management of diabetes during Ramadan: update 2010. Diabetes Care, 33(8), 1895-1902.

Alkandari, J. R., Maughan, R. J., Roky, R., Aziz, A. R., & Karli, U. (2012). The implications of Ramadan fasting for human health and well-being. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(sup1), S9-S19.

Almond, D., & Mazumder, B. (2011). Health capital and the prenatal environment: the effect of Ramadan observance during pregnancy. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(4), 56-85.

Hui, E., Braves, V., Hassanein, M., Hanif, W., Malik, R., Chowdhury, T. A., ... & Devendra, D. (2010). Management of people with diabetes wanting to fast during Ramadan. Bmj, 340, c3053.