Muslims' anger as London Olympics clash with Ramadan
http://www.sweetness-light.com/
By Claudia Joseph
14th October 2006
Full Article
Excerpt:

The 2012 London Olympics have been plunged into controversy by the discovery that the Games will clash with Ramadan, the most holy month in the Islamic calendar.

The clash will put Muslim athletes at a disadvantage as they will be expected to fast from sunrise to sunset for the entire duration of the Games.

In 2012, Ramadan will take place from July 21 to August 20, while the Olympics run from July 27 to August 12.

An anticipated 3,000 Muslim competitors are expected to be affected.

About a quarter of the 11,099 athletes who took part in the 2004 Athens Olympics came from countries with predominantly Muslim populations...

Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "They would not have organised this at Christmas. It is equally stupid to organise it at Ramadan.

"It shows a complete lack of awareness and sensitivity.

this is ridiculous. but then again i am an atheist. the olympics have nothing to do with religion. the olympics don't take a break on sundays so that the hardcore christians can go to church. make a choice: do you want a gold medal or a secure place in the so called paradise. you can either get laid with your gold medal in this life which is concrete or laid by 70 some virgins in the "after life" which is abstract. religion is a dangerous thing and we need more educated people in this world.

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sorry, i need to be more clear. religion is ok but it must be kept apart from politics, sports, etc. if you believe in god and hes a nice entity he will forgive you from skipping out of ramadan to do something you love. im sure you wont be punished.

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This again, just goes to show that Europe is in big trouble with Muslims. Muslims rioting over cartoons, to the fiasco in France last year, & on & on it goes. The problem? They have invited to many Muslims into their countries, now the Muslims want to re-write their laws, change their culture, & now by golly make a new date for the olympics to accomodate THEM.

Do we hear any complaints from any other culture or religion? No.

It's really not a good idea to invite foreigners into your country that are determined to change your country. Therefore, I hope the United States has learned from Europe. Politically correct, no, but safe, yes.

Even hard core Christians have competed on Sundays. The British athlete Jonathan Edwards is one example.

I agree with you it is ridiculous.

If you want to show the glory of your faith and beliefs, compete for them even if it is Ramadan, Easter, or any other holiday. You cannot expect any Sport Event to be moved because you belong to a minority who think it should.

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President Josiah Bartlet: Sweden has a 100% literacy rate. 100%! How do they do that?
Leo McGarry: Maybe they don't and they can't add.

Ramadan isn't just a holiday - you don't take food or drink from sunrise to sunset. I doubt that many athletes who observe Ramadan would be able to compete.

That being said, however ... the Olympics is usually held around the same time every year (give a day or two). It is not reasonable for Muslim athletes to expect the Oympic timetable to be altered to suit any religious requirement.

There can be some flexibility with fasting - there always has been. Muslim athletes who wish to compete in the 2012 Olympics, and Muslim communities, will need to think about whether an exemption can apply in the interest of international competition and goodwill. The rest of the world can't make the decision for them.

Making a big fuss about it and expecting the Olympic timetable to change one year on account of Ramadan is being a bit Prima Donna - ish.

Well, that's really just too bad. The rest of the world is not Muslim, and the Olympics have been held at roughly the same time of year for the past 50 or so years, so I don't see any overt discrimination against Islam. Seems to me that Muslims get outraged over the slightest things these days! Of course they are rarely outraged when one of their followers becomes a 'martyr' and takes innocent lives by blowing themselves up in a pizza parlor with hundreds of children around.

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"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to
change it." -- Barack Obama

Wow, sounds like a Muslim Chariots of Fire story in the making...

By the way, isn't it true that Muslims does not have to respect the fast if they are out on a journey? A journey to London and the Olympicsmay be sufficient. Some influential Imams could make a statement to this effect - end of story.

However, I guess many Imams are more interested in portraying the Muslims as victims and martyrs of evil plots by non-Muslims.

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President Josiah Bartlet: Sweden has a 100% literacy rate. 100%! How do they do that?
Leo McGarry: Maybe they don't and they can't add.

It changes a bit

1992: July 25th to Aug 9th
1996: July 19th to Aug 4th
2000: Sep 15th to October 1st
2004: Aug 13th to Aug 29th

Oh, well that changes everything. Muslims are now free to kill some infidels!~!!! bluloooloolooolooooo!!! I blow you up!!! bluloooolooloooloooo!!

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"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to
change it." -- Barack Obama

I think my birthday comes during Ramadan. I will be changing it so i don't piss anyone off.

Perhaps someone should just explain to them that it's quite unlikely that God cares when or how much they eat.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Good idea!!

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"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to
change it." -- Barack Obama

I feel that, for once, it is legitimate for muslims to ask these changes. The games can be moved by one or two weeks.

When a custom concerns a quarter of the participants, the organizer of the party tends to deal with it. If you lived in a muslim country, and that someone organized some activity at work on the evening of christmas, I think you would object as a christian and ask the organizer if it isn't possible to change the date. If you ask him 6 years in advance, I'm sure he will find a way. The same goes with the olympic games.
There is, and should be no legal obligation, but it makes sense to take care of the needs of the athletes.

PS: I'm an atheist.
PS2: I guess we're just two accostumed to the extravagant demands of the religious, and especially of the muslims, and that we now tend to reject them without even considering them

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Client: In six days, do you hear me, six days, God made the world. And you are not bloody well capable of making me a pair of trousers in three months!
Tailor: But my dear Sir, my dear Sir, look at the world, and look at my trousers.
(Beckett)