[islam] ramadan is upon us

Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan too. Good thing they got the war out of the way. The new moon was finally sighted in Egypt indicating the beginning of Ramadan. Starting Sunday, practising Muslims around the world are asked under Islam to refrain from eating and drinking during daylight along with other restrictions and prayers in a long list of rituals. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is believed to be the month when the Koran was first revealed in fragments to Prophet Mohammed, through the Angel Gabriel. You have to hand it to the Muslims – they’ve got this fasting business down pat. Religious restraint during the day, then whooping it up into the small hours, just when you're at your most peckish.