Muslim athletes and the Ramadan Olympic challenge
The Olympics officially open on Friday 27th July 2012 with an opening ceremony that will be one huge extravaganza! The last time the Olympics took place at the same time as Ramadan was in 1980. A repeating theme from 1980 is whether Muslim athletes should observe the Ramadan fast or not. This year, more than 3,000 Muslim athletes will compete in the Olympics, and a few will not fast, a decision that has been sanctioned by religious authorities the specific athletes have referred to. Muslims team mates are increasingly common for Western countries, for example British rower Moe (Mohamad) Sbihi and French boxer Rachid Azzedine are not fasting (however, no Muslims made the U.S. team this year). The question of ‘to fast or not to fast’ is similar to the dilemma that Michael Edwards faced in the 1991 Olympics where his event took place on a Sunday, a holy day for observant Christians, and he did not participate- a tough decision for someone when the pinnacle of their career is the Olympics. Edwards later went on to break the world record twice in 1995 in Gothenburg. Imagine the challenge for Muslims in this dilemma. The conflict of devout faith is nothing new to sport and the Olympics. The most famous example was in 1924 when devout Christian, Eric Liddell withdrew from the heats of the 100 metres because they were run on a Sunday, his Sabbath. The story was immortalised in the Academy Award winning film, Chariots of Fire.
Although Satan is chained up during the blessed month of Ramadan, their affects linger even after the're locked up. They leave us with habits which we've become so accustomed to; from natural desires to temptations, ultimately distracting us from the holy month of Ramadan. However with the constant remembrance of Allah, reading Dua's (prayers) on a regular basis we can overcome this, the whispers and habits will be easier to suppress helping us cleanse our mind, body and soul. Think of Ramadan as a free 30 day pass - top up and recharge yourself as much as you can whilst Satan is locked away, you won't get another opportunity like this after Ramadan has gone. Ramadan is an opportunity to strengthen and equip ourselves for the year ahead of us, it allows us to make changes to our lives and implement good habits during the blessed month. If you can get through Ramadan then the remaining 11 months of the year will become much easier in exercising restraint and letting go of bad habits and desires.
