Aslam: “The Ramadan is a means to achieve a goal. It has a twofold setup: physical and spiritual. You feel what hunger is, which helps you to sympathize with the poor in the world. Yet you also feel connected with people from your religious community. In addition, you cleanse yourself spiritually: you also fast with your ears, eyes, tongue, hands and heart. You do not expose yourself to negative stimuli and during this month you are extra benevolent towards your fellow man. Raji: “The Ramadan is also a kind of training, where you learn to focus on higher things: you try to loosen yourself from material matters.”
Aslam stresses that the philosophy behind the fast cannot be found back in Islam only: “Christians, Jews, Buddhists and others also call on their followers to fast. It is a misconception, by the way, that Muslims make some kind of ‘switch’ to a ‘Ramadan mode’ at the beginning of that month. You always practice your religion, but in this month you contemplate its meaning and effect more than otherwise.”
The three men like to talk about everything, all the facts and philosophy underlying the Ramadan. For instance, did I know that the Ramadan is the ninth Islamic month, that it ends with the Id al-Fitr festival and that prayers held during the 26th and the 27th nights of the holy month have extra significance?

Ramadan and the TU/e
What about the Ramadan and studying and working at the TU/e? Nazir: “As a foreign student, far away from my relatives, I do have my difficult moments now and again. I have to do my own cooking: at 5.30 a.m. I eat. This implies that I need to get up at 4.30 a.m., so that I get very little sleep. Sometimes I stay up until 4 a.m. in order to eat then, so that I can stay asleep without being interrupted. If I don’t do this, I do feel rather sleepy during lectures the following day.”
In general the men do not get many reactions with reference to the Ramadan. Nazir: “My friends from abroad are quite familiar with the Ramadan. Dutch people do not ask about it very often. Raji: “Dutch people apologize when they eat in my presence, but there is no need for that.” Aslam: “During the Ramadan I do not take any stimulants either, such as coffee. Surprisingly enough, however, the smell of fresh coffee is highly stimulating, when I really do not drink that much coffee normally anyway./.