The Muslim holiday of Ramadan begins in the United States on Sunday, March 10, 2024, and continues through Tuesday, April 9, 2024 (the timetable differs by a day or two, depending on where you are in the world).
I don’t know about you, but I love learning when I travel. Since traveling often means meeting people from different backgrounds, I’ve discovered that I love learning more about what these “different from me” people consider to be important. That, of course, as is often the case, includes their religion. So, from my active research and reaching out to friends who practice, I’ve learned a little bit about many of the major and not-so-major religions around the world – what’s done, why those things are done, etc. I think it’s made me a more well-rounded person and helps me keep a more open mind about those who may not have the same beliefs as I do.
So what exactly IS Ramadan? Well, to grab a quote from History.com:
“Ramadan is a holy month of fasting, introspection and prayer for Muslims, the followers of Islam. Fasting is one of the five fundamental principles of Islam. Each day during Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. They are also supposed to avoid impure thoughts and bad behavior. Muslims break their daily fasts by sharing meals with family and friends, and the end of Ramadan is celebrated with a three-day festival known as Eid al-Fitr, one of Islam’s major holidays.”
Unlike, for example, the High Holy Days and Sabbath of Judaism, Muslims can still work and travel during Ramadan. In fact, I asked my friend Nowal (Pronounced “Noel.” she’s my Guru of All Things Muslim. I also have Gurus Of All Things Mormon, Jewish, Wiccan, Catholic, Buddhist, Quaker, all different flavors of Christianity, and a handful of other religions. But Nowal is my go-to for any questions I have about Islam.), and she says that Muslim travelers are generally exempt from fasting.
“They would just have to make up any missed days after Ramadan,” says Nowal. “For example, I know of someone who is coming from overseas to visit, and she’s not going to fast while traveling.” (She’ll just do a “make up fast” after Ramadan is finished.)
“However,” Nowal continues, “some airlines in the Muslim world do provide in-flight timing guidelines so that anyone who still wants to fast (and not have to make up any days) has a way to do so uninterrupted. In fact, since the ancient religious guideline for fasting while traveling is to start/stop fasting per local timing, not origin or destination, one airline has developed proprietary algorithms based on prayer time calculations using the plane’s real-time coordinates.”
SO interesting!
But what if you’re not a Muslim and are traveling on a plane registered in the Middle East during Ramadan? Different aspects of that question have been answered by Lucky (Ben) on his blog, One Mile At A Time, in 2016, 2017, and 2019, since he had the opportunity to fly those ME3 carriers throughout the year, including during Ramadan. As someone who always likes to learn the whats and hows of these kinds of things, I just found the posts fascinating.
BTW, if you want to learn some more basics about Ramadan, I recommend these:
- The basics of Ramadan
- Some Ramadan etiquette for non-Muslims in Western countries
- The rules and etiquette you should follow while in a Muslim-majority country during Ramadan
- How Emirates prepares for Ramadan in the air, from Economy Class & Beyond
And for my Muslim friends, Ramadan Mubarak!
Feature Photo: Pxhere
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