Islam is in the process of observing Ramadan.  Because it’s Islamic, there’s a certain amount of ‘political correctness’ whereby public officials are bending over backwards to observe and recognize this.  

For example, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, who had recently threatened to permanently shut down churches and synagogues, is giving Muslims 500,000 meals for Ramadan.  In Minneapolis, the mayor entered into an agreement with the Council for American/Islamic Relations (CAIR) along with a mosque so that the Islamic call to prayer could be played over loudspeakers five times a day.  Last Thursday in Washington, D.C., some 22 members of Congress came together to introduce a resolution recognizing the commencement of Ramadan.

Joining Jim to discuss these issues was Usama Dakdok.  Usama is the founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry.  He’s the speaker on the daily radio broadcast, ‘Revealing the Truth About Islam.’  He speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur’an into English.  He’s the author of ‘Exposing the Truth about the Qur’an’ and the newly released, ‘Exposing the Truth About Jihad.’

Ramadan existed long before Mohammed and with it comes the tradition of fasting.  In Christianity it’s generally understood that fasting is a break from eating or drinking for at least one day.  However, Usama explained that Muslims never really fast.  Their eating starts at sunset and ends early in the morning.  He noted that  statistics/studies show that Muslims eat more food during the month of Ramadan than any month of the year.  Muslims also don’t work during Ramadan and are allowed to sleep all day.  In essence, Ramadan is a time where day is changed to evening/evening is changed to daytime so there’s certainly feasting taking place, but not fasting.

As this Crosstalk continued, Jim and Usama discussed more concerning Ramadan including:

–In Islam can children be beaten if they don’t fast by age 10?

–Is fasting during Ramadan a good deed by which Muslims can obtain forgiveness of sins?

–What is the significance of the moon during Ramadan?

–Can Muslims take medication during Ramadan?

–How does Islam view the killing of infidels during Ramadan?

–How do jihadis view the coronavirus?

These points and input from callers round out this edition of Crosstalk.