When Norwegian blogger Sharon Rolland decided to observe Ramadan, a couple of weeks ago, she never quite imagined how profound her experience would be. In fact, even she was not entirely prepared for what was to come.
“I quickly learned that giving up food and drink was more of a mental challenge than anything else,” she revealed. “I kept hearing about the physical hurdles… you know, the hunger pangs and lethargy. But I figured out soon enough that it was all in the mind.”
Miss Rolland decided early on to adopt a sort of a mind game to get through her day. “The first day was the hardest, I must confess. The last hour before Iftar, or breaking the fast, particularly forced me to draw upon all the energy and will-power I had to stay afloat.”
She went from anxiously watching the clock tick to actually distracting herself with activities like taking a shower or leaving the house for flute lessons.
“I tried whatever I could to avoid giving in to temptation!”
I was curious about the reason why she decided to fast. She was not Muslim, after all. I have many non-Muslim friends who are very supportive of me as I journey through Ramadan every year. But none of them has ever tried their hand at fasting the Muslim way.
“I’m the sort of person who is naturally very curious about other cultures,” shared Miss Rolland. “I’m particularly fond of Asian cultures. As a teen, I volunteered at our local Refugee Help Center and met so many loving people from that part of the world. Their experiences and traditions warmed my heart and truly fascinated me.”
As time went on, Miss Rolland came across Muslim friends who taught her a great deal about Islam.
“Their way of life was different and, I must say, inspiring. I was particularly curious about their decision to fast an entire month out of the year. I suppose their motivation rubbed off on me. When I heard about other people who observed Ramadan even though they were not Muslim, I thought why not give it a try?”
Sharon asked one of her Muslim friends if she could join her in fasting but the lady ended up getting pregnant.
“I was told that Muslim women are not obligated to fast when they are with child,” she exclaimed. “I thought it wasn’t something I could do on my own so I dropped the idea of observing Ramadan.”
Other conditions that get in the way of fasting include menstruation, travel, and sickness.
“I found more Muslim friends from Pakistan who were very supportive about my journey towards freedom… I was raised with strict Christian family values which I found to be rather difficult to live by. My friends never got tired of answering all of my questions about their culture and religion.”
When Miss Rolland revealed to them that she was interested in observing Ramadan this year, her friends invited her to join them. She was thrilled. I asked her if her family members and close friends tried to talk her out of it.
“No! Not at all! I suppose they knew I was trying to find myself and learn more about who I am simply because I lost my identity when I broke away from the Christian cult I grew up in… Now, they might still think it’s a crazy idea to go hungry and thirsty from sun-up to sun-down, but then they support most of my crazy ideas anyway!”
As mentioned earlier, Sharon found fasting rather difficult in the beginning.
“My mind tried to tell me to quit several times but I knew in my heart that I didn’t want to and that what was holding me back was just hunger pangs, nothing more. Once that realization dawned upon me I was able to regain self-control.”
Sharon had to drop out for a few days due to her period, nevertheless. “I’ll be honest, I felt a bit left out when my friends would talk about planning Iftar while I was eating my lunch. It came as a bit of a surprise to know that I actually enjoyed fasting because I was expecting days full of suffering and regret. Now that I’m able to fast again, I feel in control and, frankly, happier. I don’t regret it one bit and cannot imagine dropping out. I’m determined to stick around for the entire month. But I do wonder how wrong I was about assuming this would be a difficult experience.”
In fact, Sharon enjoys her experience so much she is already planning to fast next year during Ramadan.
“I have learned so much about myself through this process,” she smiled. “I find it refreshing to get away from the daily routines and do something that challenges me. I’ve always loved a good challenge!”
Miss Rolland decided to document her experience on her blog, Our Life Stories. That’s where her story gets even more interesting.
“I wasn’t really planning to blog about my fast but my friends kept encouraging me to share my story.”
Sharon agreed that it would be a nice thing for Muslims to hear about an outsider’s perspective on Ramadan. So, she made a blog post. Her message was mostly well-received. However, she soon experienced backlash.
“I received some negative feedback from people in my town. I suppose they were unable to understand the motivation behind all this and viewed my challenge as a desperate attempt at drawing attention to myself. The reality is I was simply trying to test my limits and find out more about myself.”
Miss Rolland felt betrayed. The messages were sent anonymously to her blog which made it all the more difficult to process. Although it hurt initially, she was soon able to put it behind her.
“I received so much support and love from many people who urged me to ignore the negativity. It helped the ill feelings to fade away. I took a chance and followed my heart by observing Ramadan. Doing so offered to me a taste of a foreign culture which I value so much. No amount of reading about others’ traditions could equate actually living a day or two in their shoes.”
Sharon’s message to readers is a positive one.
“I think it is very important for people to respect one another despite their different backgrounds. The way people react negatively only shows who they truly are. So, in all honesty, I believe that a better world starts with you and me. We should strive to lead by example and refrain from disrespecting others on a personal level.”
You can read Sharon’s blog post at https://ourlifestories.me/2019/05/14/what-did-i-get-myself-into-a-non-muslim-joining-the-ramadan/
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