Muslim Athletes 'Charge Battery' in Ramadan

CAIRO, October 16, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Many young American Muslims who practise sport while fasting in Ramadan said that they are able to balance the requirements of their faith and their teams and see the holy month as an ample opportunity to "charge" their batteries, a US daily said on Sunday, October 16.

''You feel the fulfilment and you feel really good to eat and relax,'' Zohayr Jaffer, a 16-year-old junior varsity player at the Parkland High School football, told The Morning Herald.

Jaffer, like others, does not want any special treatment from his coaches. It is his choice to play the sport he loves and to adhere to his faith, the paper said.

''I don't want them to take it easy on me because it's not fair to the rest of the team,'' said Jaffer.

His coach, Craig Waters, said Jaffer's fasting is not an issue, and that he only takes him out of a game based on his performance.

Having noticed on the school calendar that Ramadan began on October 5, Waters spoke to Jaffer that day, allowing him to know that he can eat a sandwich during an evening game to break his fast and have time to pray.

Muslims, save the sick and those travelling, abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex during Ramadan.

Ramadan, which started on October 5 in the United States, is a time for Muslims to feel closer to God through prayer and self-restraint.

Charging Battery

Whatever the physical difficulties they feel, the young athletes are glad to take part in a spiritual fulfilment.

''Actually, I feel a little bit better because I feel like I'm doing more than other players and I'm doing it for Allah,'' said Alaa Fadel, 13, who runs cross-country for Parkland.

By the end of the month, observers feel uplifted and appreciative of their religion and what they have, said officials at the Al-Ahad Islamic Centre in South Whitehall Township.

Ramadan is a way to ''charge your batteries for the rest of the year,'' class principal Amir Famili told the paper.

But some coaches would not allow their fasting athletes to play.

''It's extremely important to drink fluids,'' said Eddie Stuettgen of the Bath-East Allen Youth Club, when he learned that a 9-year-old girl was planning to fast and decided not to let her play in a soccer game.

The coach was previously unaware that observant Muslims fast for a month.

He would later decide to let her play but take her out once she seemed tired, the paper said.

Doctors fear that athletes who fast during Ramadan and engage in activity before they break their fast run a high risk of dehydration and problems associated with it, such as muscle cramping.

But Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), said such fears are unfounded.

Muslims in areas that are more humid, hot and with longer daylight hours have fasted for the past 1,400 years, Hooper said.

Indeed, fasting does not necessarily translate into poor performance, the paper said.

A famous example is Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, among the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history and a strict observer of Ramadan.