Just eat something, for example on the way home or to work. It is just not just like that for Amjad (21) and Jordi (32). They are both fasting at the moment. But there is an important difference: Amjad is Muslim and Jordi is a Catholic. Yet they have more in common than they might think.
For Amjad it is Ramadan and that means that the Lent has also arrived for him. Ramadan started this year on Friday 28 February and lasts until Saturday 29 March. At the request of Omroep Brabant, Amjad came to the Sint Catharinakerk in Eindhoven for a meeting with Jordi. Once inside, he looks around with great interest.
“This is the first time I am here,” says Amjad. “Of course I am a Muslim, so this church is not my prayer house. But it is very nice here, in terms of architecture and design. It is really special.”
Although Amjad is not stuck as a Catholic, he is well familiar with the rules of the Catholic Lent. He even knows how to list them out of his head. “Neat,” says Jordi. The church is familiar territory for him. He is a Catholic and is also fasting at the moment.
“Money to charities, for example, but you can also do good deeds.”
For Jordi, Lent time started on Wednesday 5 March and ends on Saturday, April 19. “As Catholics, we can only eat one big meal during fasting, in addition to two very small meals that together should not be larger than a large meal,” he explains.
For Catholics, fasting means that they consciously abandon certain food or other things. Traditionally, for example, that is meat, so Jordi now does not eat meat. “In addition, we have to pray and the emphasis is on the alms,” he explains. “The alms can be anything. Giving money to charities, for example, but you can also perform good deeds.”
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When asked if Jordi knows how Ramadan works, he nods in the affirmative. “Immediately after sunset you can eat or drink – that meal is called the iftar – but not the rest of the day. I also know that prayer and reading the Quran play an important role during Ramadan.”
That’s right, Amjad agrees with a smile. “An important goal of Ramadan is self -reflection. You try to be better disciplined and thus get better control over your desire.”
But how do non-Muslims actually respond to his decision to fast? “There are always the clichés,” laughs Amjad. “Such as:” Do you not drink water? ” Well, no.
Fortunately, there are enough places in the Netherlands for Amjad where the Ramadan understands all too well. Jordi and Amjad leave the church to visit such a place together: the Mevlana Mosque in Eindhoven. For Jordi it is only the third time in a mosque. “This is really impressive,” he says, looking around.
Ramadan is part of Amjad’s identity. That does not mean that he never has trouble fasting. “Ultimately, you also combine fasting with your work and study. That means there are colleagues or other students who are just eating next to you. Of course that is not a problem for me, but that can sometimes make it harder.”
Is Ramadan therefore heavier than Catholic fasting? Not according to Jordi. “It’s different, but not necessarily heavier, I think. The point is that we both eat less, only Catholics usually do that during the day with only one meal. As a Catholic then you decide whether you also want to eat smaller meals in the evening.”
“Not eating meat; you need discipline for that.”
Amjad thinks differently about that. “I feel that eating meat is just a little easier than eating nothing at all during the day.” Yet both acknowledge that they might learn something from each other’s fasting. For example, Jordi would only want to eat the big meal after sunset: “Just to see how it works.”
For Amjad, not eating certain dishes is fascinating. “Not eating meat, for example. You also need discipline for that. I think that is a very interesting perspective of fasting.”
