"I am a journalist and I fast during Ramadan"

Currently I am in Singapore under Asia Journalism Fellowship programme. In India we celebrate Eid, here in South East Asia it is 'Hari Raya'. I asked my friend and AJF 2015 Fellow, Aidila Razak, why does she practices Ramadan fasting? While she is celebrating Hari Raya in Malaysia with family, here is our email conversation. 

 More about Aidila :Aidila Razak. Aidila is the assistant news editor at Malaysiakini, assisting the chief editor in managing the newsroom. She wants to research the trade of migrant workers into Malaysia for a series in Malaysiakini.

1. I would like to know your experience of following Ramadan. In detailed can you explain us, what is the inner peace and change you feel after following Ramadan fast? Is it like spiritual satisfaction or rational perspective? Or may be different than what I think?

  - I am not a very spiritual person in general so my experience of Ramadan does pale in comparison with others who say they feel inner peace and closeness with God during this month. However, I often use this month to consciously remember God, and with this I find myself trying to be more patient, kinder, more thoughtful and to count my blessings. I cannot really explain it, but i do feel more centred when I am fasting during Ramadan ­ more calm. There is also the praying, which in a way helps me feel more grounded. Muslims pray five times a day ­ this is one of the five pillars of Islam ­ but I am pretty bad at this. I try harder during Ramadan because I feel I should do so if I am also fasting. Each prayer is just 5 minutes, but praying throughout the day reminds me that there are things bigger than myself. Also, i like how my body for feels during Ramadan. It feels like a detox!

2. How do you deal with your hunger and thirst when you are fasting? You are a active journalist. Living in a humid country and not taking leave when you are working, does it affect your stamina? Do you change your duty? Do you feel pale or tired through out the day? Or is it just normal day? How do you control temptation because your colleagues and many other people are drinking, eating in front of you.

 -It's a normal day. I have been fasting since I was 8 years old so it really does not feel like a big deal. I get more thirsty than hungry, to be honest, especially if it's a very hot day and I am doing a lot of running around but you'd be surprised at how fast time flies when you're busy.

3. Before breaking your fast, do you pray? How does that very moment look like for you? When I saw many Muslims praying before breaking fast I see they are talking to Allah....

-  I should pray five times a day ­ i usually miss at least one, for various reasons. The prayer times is at dawn, afternoon (anytime between 1.30­4.30pm), evening (anytime between 4.30­7.30pm), at dusk (anytime 7.30­8.30pm) and night (anytime 8.30pm til dawn). It is a ritual, so there are specific verses of worship which we read and movements we do as a form of supplication. If you watch the Muslim prayer closely, you will see the person making themselves seem smaller and smaller (to God). We end the prayer by giving salam (greetings of peace) to two angels we believe are always with us at either side of our shoulder, and then we talk to God in our words, to give thanks, maybe ask for help or sometimes just to chat. In school we are taught to use formal language out of respect, but I often don't because I want to be personal with God. He has already heard my deepest personal thoughts, so why bother going all formal with what I say in a prayer.

4. How many days you have to follow this fast in a year?

- 28 days.

5. When you break the fast, you are eating almost after 8­9 hours. Does eating after such a big gap affects your health? According to all dietitians we should eat after 2 hours otherwise it affects our body­mass ratio. Do you eat too much when you break fast? Let’s, put this way ­ How to you manage cycle of fasting and eating?

 -We are encouraged to wake before dawn to eat before starting our fast, even if it is just to drink a glass of water. So this is like a heavy breakfast to last us until dusk. It is not advisable to binge when we break fast, but it is encouraged to break the fast with something sweet for a jolt of energy. (Many people have huge meals when they break fast though and restaurants offer huge all you can eat buffets...) Although i feel better after fasting, it doesn't mean I lost weight. Most people don't lose weight during fasting month, which makes me suspect the effect is negligible on BMI. Do dietitians encourage eating every 2 hours? I hardly do this even when I am not fasting.

6. Did your parents, family values forced you to follow Ramadan or by choice you are following it?

 -My parents never forced me to do anything. At the age of 3 or 4 I didnt shower for several days because I refused and my parents let me. This gives you an idea of their way of parenting. But everyone in my family fasts. They may not pray but they fast. Fasting is part of culture and you'd be in a minority if you don't. There is, however, social pressure and in Malaysia, adult Muslims are not allowed to eat in public during Ramadan. (They can do so in private if they are, sick, old, have their period etc). I don't do it due to pressure though.

7. Have you ever thought not to follow Ramadan fasting? Rebel against your religion? Or you think there is no need to rebel against it?

 -This is my month of remembering God. I did it in Australia, in the US (16 hour day of fasting because it was summer and daylight hours were longer) and in Singapore when no one was there to slap a fine on me if I didn't or give me pressure to do so. Worship is highly personal, and this is my form of worship.

 8. During menstrual cycle one has to break the fast. Do you think this is a good freedom given by religion or do you think it is a regulation on women?

 -Menstruating women are put in the same category as breastfeeding women, the old, the sick and others for whom fasting may be detrimental. So I see it as a kind concession. Some people have debilitating period cramps and feel faint during these times, so fasting would be quite hard. I was taught that to not do harm to body and mind is a key teaching of Islam ­ a 'maqasid syariah' (aim of Islamic teaching).

9. Do you think menstrual cycle should not affect women's right to fast during Ramadan? Isn’t it a natural thing?

 -Why stop fasting? As above. FYI, one is obliged to "pay back" the days in which one did not fast during Ramadan. I.e if one didn't fast a 7 days because of periods, then one has to fast on any 7 days in the year before the next Ramadan to "repay" the debt/obligation. And if one is unable to do so due to health reasons etc, one can instead give a stipulated amount of food to those in need (eg N cups of rice for a day of not fasting).

10. I can see that you are very liberal and a progressive rational journalist, having said that when we understood that you are following Ramadan and a practicing Muslim, eyebrows rose. How do you explain you being a practicing Muslim and being a non biased, secular journalist?

 -I am not secular because I adhere to a religion and have faith. But this is in my personal life. It does not affect my work just as being a woman does not affect my ability to report on women issues objectively. Similarly me being Malay doesn't mean I cannot report on ethnic tensions fairly, even if it involves my own race. In fact even in my personal life, i never impose on others my way of living. I expect the same courtesy from others. I believe all liberals should be the same. Let people choose how they want to live their lives, as long as they are not hurting others.

11. Last question, do you think have any concerns about Religious practices which bring regulations or limitations on Woman's rights or freedom? Like Hijab and may be some more issues which we are not aware of?

 -There are varying interpretations of women's rights in Islam. Some argue the more conservative views ­ women must have permission from husband to leave the home etc ­ arose from the fact that the earlier scholars who interpreted the Quran and/or prophetic traditions were men living in patriarchy. When Islam came, the Arabs were burying their newborn daughters for eg, but Islam banned this. Islam gives women the right to prenuptial agreements, inheritance etc. The Prophet's wife Aishah led battles on horseback, but in Saudi today, women are not allowed to drive purportedly due to syariah. There is also the need for a 'wali' or guardian who 'gives permission' for a Muslim woman to marry. (Her father or brother or uncle) But increasingly, people are opting to have a judge act as a wali, which is also acceptable. Although women are given the right to seek divorce (fasakh), the bureaucracy and attitudes against divorce in the syariah courts means women can take years to get a divorce when a man can just utter the talaq (pronouncement) of divorce in court and be done with it. Talaq is seen as a the man's absolute right, but a woman must convince a judge for her to claim fasakh. That said, yes, the hijab can be limiting if one wants to be a gymnast for example.

Outside of that, as a Muslim woman in Malaysia, I have a lot of freedom ­ just about the same as my non­Muslim female friends. There is religious policing in Malaysia to a certain extent ­ the syariah law in Malaysia bars Muslims from drinking alcohol in public or engaging in premarital sex (in private!! Nosy neighbours can be a pain), for eg, but this infringements on civil liberties affects all Muslims, not just women. However, a non­practising or lax Muslim woman is more visible than a man, because men don't really have to dress a certain way to adhere to religion. Men's aurat, or dress code for modesty, is between their belly button to their knee so wearing jeans and a shirt is already adherent. Even so, because society is still patriarchal, a female Muslim gymnast not wearing the hijab and exposing her legs is condemned, while a male Muslim swimmer in swim trunks and not covering himself above the knee is let off without a word of criticism. There are social pressures to don the hijab, to do this or that to avoid sin, but my belief is that sin is between me and God so it's really no one else's business. As a Muslim woman in KL, i am still able to assert that. I admit others in different families or countries do not have the same freedoms.