Author: klbarlow

Following my post a few weeks ago about the Turkmenistan soccer league restarting its season despite the COVID-19 pandemic I decided to do an update on how the league’s restart went last week. I found a Boston Globe article that covered how many leagues around the world are currently being affected by the virus.

Per the article the first game the league played since its March 24th suspension came on April 19th. It was a game between Altyn Asyr and Kopetdag in a 20,000-capacity stadium Ashgabat, the capital of the country. The piece says that around 500 people attended the match and that the “the crowd size was broadly in line with typical domestic league games in Turkmenistan.” Attendance to the match was free. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

If you recall from the earlier post, Turkmenistan is located right next door to Iran, one of the most infected nations in the Middle East.

Continuing my recent trend of Ramadan-themed posts, I found a piece from Foreign Policy, an American news publication focused on global affairs, current events, and domestic and international policy. The article talks about the current debate about fasting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although fasting is one of the Five Pillars in Islam its connection to COVID-19 has been brought into question. Although fasting would not directly cause the virus many have asked whether fasting from water and food would cause undue stress on the immune system, making an individual more susceptible to contracting the virus. Many countries have placed restrictions on traditional Ramadan practices like prayer, as my previous posts have discussed. But according to the article Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which is considered to be the top religious authority for Sunni Muslims released a statement that said “Not fasting during Ramadan due to coronavirus is not permissible, and fasting is a duty and a must for Muslims.”

While there is no scientific evidence that fasting makes a person more susceptible to contracting the virus, a source from the article even argues the opposite, I still think this is an interesting dynamic between one’s faith and one’s health that is happening in our world right now.

As many of you may know, this week started the Muslim holy moth of Ramadan. It is a time of reflection and self-improvement for devout Muslims. It also calls for fasting and focus on one’s community. I found a piece from Kitchn, a daily web magazine focused on home cooking and kitchen design, that breaks down Muslim fasting traditions during Ramadan. The article says that “the fast is strictly observed, even in higher latitudes, by all adult Muslims.” The elderly and the sick are exempt from the fasting. Muslims are able to eat after sunset and those meals include “fresh fruit, vegetables, halal meats, breads, cheeses, and sweets.”

The article also covers several traditional Muslim meals during Ramadan including Dahi vadey, a popular dish in India. The dish features “lentil dumplings that are soaked in a spicy yogurt sauce.” My personal favorite that I would like to eventually try from their list is Konafah which is a pastry made with phyllo dough and cheese.

I did some further digging following my earlier post about the affect that COVID-19 has had on the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and I found this jarring image if the Grand Mosque from Reuters that I wanted to share with everyone. It shows the Grand Mosque virtually empty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course this is a site that would be packed during a more traditional. Ramadan. Here is the photo: 

For perspective, I also found an image of the Grand Mosque during a previous Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Here is that picture: 

It is truly bizzare the impact that this virus has had everyone. Very few corners of the world, if any, have been able to escape the affects COVID-19 and the Muslim faith is no different. 

COVID-19 has left no doubt in its effects on almost every aspect of human life. Christians in America and around the world saw their Easter celebrations altered due to the spread of the virus. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan started just last Thursday but has already seen COVID-19 alter traditions. I found an NPR article that discusses Muslims who are facing “a different kind of Ramadan” this year due to the virus.

Traditionally mosques are “brimming with the faithful” during this Muslim holy month. COVID-19 has obviously forced the closure of mosques around the world. That includes those in Saudi Arabia, which is home to the holiest cities in Islam – Mecca and Medina. The article covers a multitude of countries who’s Ramadan traditions will be affected by COVID-19 including Indonesia, where the Muslim population is the largest in the world. The piece says that “mainstream Islamic organizations have issued religious pronouncements asking Muslims not to hold mass prayers or to have communal dinners known as iftar to end daily fasts at sunset.”

I thought the recent Social Justice in Islam paper reading was an interesting piece for our class. I liked the comparisons that the writer made between Christianity and Islam. For many of us, Christianity is a faith that we are much more familiar with than certain aspects of Islam. I thought it was nice to have a credible breakdown of the two faiths that could be referenced in discussion.
My biggest takeaway from the article was the separation of life and the afterlife. Based on the reading, the Islamic faith doesn’t create a division between life and the afterlife. It also urges followers to not disregard life on earth in hopes of a better afterlife. This idea largely contrast with ideas of Christianity which puts a heavy emphasis on leading a virtuous life on Earth so that the afterlife can be even better.

“This moment, this love, comes to rest in me,
many beings in one being.
In one wheatgrain a thousand sheaf-stacks.
Inside the needle’s eye, a turning night of stars.”

I thought that poem 13 by Rumi was one of the more interesting selections. I also really enjoyed its message. I interpreted it as a message to not become overly obsessed with becoming larger than any one moment. As humans are always hungry for larger and greater experiences that will expand our reach to encompass everything. We all want to be so big that we don’t have to deal with tiny moments of everyday life. This piece urges that we let go of that urge and actually become smaller instead of urging to become larger than life. This message is why it was one of my favorites. I think it relates to the chaotic and busy lives that nearly all of us live.

Amid the shuttering of professional sports leagues around the world there is one league that will restart its season in the near future. I recently read about the Turkmenistan soccer league that will restart its suspended season even amid the coronavirus pandemic. Turkmenistan is located right next door to Iran, which is one of the worst-hit countries in that region. The eight-team Turkmenistan league is even allowing fans to attend games once the league restarts. Despite its location near Iran, Turkmenistan has yet to report a case of coronavirus, which has casted doubt upon the country. The Turkmenistan league is one of a handful, including the much publicized Belrausian Premier League, that will continue to play amid the the global pandemic. 

I grew up in Lawrence, Indiana a suburb of Indianapolis, and the school system in my town features some of the most diverse schools in the state of Indiana. As a result I was exposed to a variety of different cultures, including Islam, from a young age. In fact, without looking at the numbers, I can say that my high school had more diversity than Butler does. Many of my classmates were of Muslim heritage which meant I had been exposed some of the realities of the Islamic faith as opposed to stereotypes that popular culture and media portrays. Amid all this I still found the PBS Global connection reading to be quite informative. One thing that I found interesting was that Muslim women actually believe it is empowering to cover their heads and there is a “collective identity which is underlined” by covering their heads. Popular culture and media, which view it as oppressive for women, often portray the exact opposite idea of this.

After reading through the Hadith selections for this week I decided to read further into the idea about its credibility that was presented on the Canvas home page. There are many sources online that bring forward questions and criticism about the Hadith. The main criticism toward the readings is about the way that they were collected. For example, I found an article listed on the website for Al-Mawrid , a “foundation for Islamic research and education.” The article argues that the Hadith is contributed to Muhammad yet not found in the Quran, which is supposed to reflect Muhammad’s method.

The article also focuses on the reliability of the transmitters of the Hadith along with their methods and motives. The author writes “I am not sure how the author can so conveniently and in so much detail determine the motivations and detailed conspiracy plans of a person who lived more than 1200 years ago.” and brings up the fact that the Hadith author could have simply expressed what they thought was problematic from the original collection.

Although the article argues against the validity of the Hadith it also says that no that “other than the Qur’an, no other Islamic text is 100% reliable”.