Hungry for God
Seven: Faith, Dec 5 2003
It is the holy month of Ramadan, and Muslims everywhere are celebrating by fasting and praying. Tom Henry finds out how this religious tradition affects the lives of the faithful.
At 4.30am on these days, cold and dreary mornings the only people who are stirring are the ones who really have to stir. Postal workers, milkmen, people coming on and off night shifts, food preparation staff, lorry drivers; for the rest of us, the dawn of a November day is hardly conductive to leaping energetically out of bed.
Yet for thousands of households accross Bristol, the early mornings of this month are sacred times. Families rise together in order to pray and to eat, for once light peeps through the living room curtains no more food and drink can pass their lips until the day has faded into dusk once more.
while Western society frets itself into a frenzy with the thought of Christmas shopping. the Islamic world is practicing self-discipline, astinence, purification and spiritual renewal.
This is the month of Ramadan, a time when Muslims accross the world, rich and poor, forsake food and drink during daylight hours in order to concentrate more fully on adherence to their religion. Prayer is required five times a day, for as long as two hours in the evening, and fasting is compulsory for men and women in good health, and children above the age of puberty.
It's not an easy discipline to fulfil to the letter, as Easton shop owner Abdul Malik admist. In the past, he says he's been somewhat lax about Ramadan, but this year he has sworn to carry out all the duties required of him in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam.
No matter that his halal butchers' shop, Pak Butchers, in Roman Road, and his nearby general foodstore in St Mark's Road are very busy indeed at this time of year (for when the fast is broken in the evening, it is broken in style); he's up early nd ready for the fasting and prayer which is the daily routine until December 5.
"I have to admit, I haven't observed it very much before," he admits the 29-year-old, who has been building up his business from the age of 18. "I've been so involved in the business that I've not really given myself much time for my faith. But this year I feel differently. I want to pray at the mosque regularly. I'm even thinking of going on the haj (pilgrimage) to Mecca next year.
"I feel that God has been good to me, and perhaps he could take it away from me. I want to please God, because God could use me as a perfect example of giving everything to someone, and taking it away again. This year I feel a lot cgetter for giving something back to God."
Abdul rises with his wife and their three children before dawn. A short prayer is said before a breakfast of paratha, a chapati heavy in butter or oil and eaten with yoghurt. This is a pakistani dish, and different breakfasts will be eaten by Muslims according to their countries of origin.
A cup of tea finishes off the meal, and that's it until sunset - which at this time of year is soon after 4pm. The days are punctuated by regular visits to the mosque. Abdul says: "All the community is there. I like that feeling of us all being there for a common purpose."
Abdul's shops, particularly the butcher's, gets hugely busy just before 4pm, when it is nearly time for the fast to be broken. "After sunset the fast turns into a big feast," he says.
"Dates are the traditional opener, and the meal itself can be made up of many different dishes. In the Pakistani tradition we'll have samosas, parokahs, shish kebabs, rice, chapatis and meat. It is a heavy meal, and after it we will either go to the mosque or stay at home to pray. The prayers said at 7pm can take two hours, so you're feeling pretty sleepy after all the food and the prayer!"
Pak Butchers operates very much within the confines of strict Islamic laws governing the slaughter, sale and consumption of meat. The word halal, in Arabic, means "fit" or "proper" and when applied to food it means fit for consumption under Shariah (Islamic) law. The animal must be slaughtered in a place supervised by an imam, or priest, the machiniery must be cleansed according to Islamic law and the slaughter must be a mature Muslim.
In addition, the animal is killed by a slit to the throat, and Shariah law states that no stunning must take place first.
However, this is where western and eastern traditions differ. Government food regulations governing animal welfare require a stun of some kind, and so a very minor stun is given to animals to be killed in the halal tradition.
Once the throat is slit the blood is drained from the animal. Abdul says this makes the meat taste better. "I think draining the blood meass getting rid of bacteria," he said, "and so the risk of getting something from the meat is minimal."
Regular suppliers are based in Wales and Yorkshire. Adbul won't buy from outside the UK, simply because he couldn't guarantee that the meat would be 100 per cent halal.
In an age when big supermarkets will buy from anywhere, there is something admirably old-fashioned about Abdul's methodic approach. This hasn't gone unrecognised among non-Muslims living in Easton; while Asians make up the majority of its customers, Pak Butchers also has steady trade from white and Afro-Caribbean neighbours.
The butcher's was opened 10 years ago when Abdul's father took out a loan to buy the premises. Abdul didn't want to continue his education post-16 and so he chose to make a go of running it. The Loan was paid back in a short space of time and the business thrived.
Abdul went on to open Pak Foods, in the bustling, colourful St Mark's Road. "We had to open the food shop to meet the demand," he said. "People bought the meat, but they also wanted the coriander, chutneys and so on to go with it. Everything in the food shop is also halal - even down to the corned beef and sausages we sell."
There is one more duty Abdul must fulfil as a observant Muslim. This is the giving of Zakat, a tithe of 2.5 percent of income.
The money goes to Muslim charitable organisations, but as he points out, it can go to "any person less fortunate than yourself." The giving of alms in this way reminds Abdul that while he works hard, he also has a resonsibility to the people around him, and to God.
"I grew up in Easton, I've always lived here and I always will live here," he said. "I love the place and the people here, it makes me one minute to get to work, and I think it's a unique community.
"It's a blend of cultures and because I've been brought up with an English community which tolerated me, I am pleased that we can all work together to make this a great area of Bristol."