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source site - Observing Ramadan - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Muslim faithful throughout the world are currently observing the holy month of Ramadan. Observant Muslims participate in fasting (sawm), one of the five pillars of their faith, this entire Lunar month (this year it extends from September 1st to the 30th). Eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity is prohibited from dawn until sunset, when the fast is broken with the evening meal called Iftar. Local customs define varying traditions, including differing types of food used to break the daily fast. The fasting is meant to teach a person patience, humility and sacrifice, to set aside time to ask forgiveness, practice self-restraint, and pray for guidance in the future.

the site has some truly excellent photos of the faith.

I am in a cultural analysis mood today.

One other cultural phenomenon often cited is the moral degradation of our youngsters. The topic that brought me to think about this was a facebook discussion thread titled "Lelaki Melayu Bermasaalah" by a girl called Akmal Fairuz who complained that young malay boys are uncouth and describes them as "tidak bertamadun".

whilst the misbehaviours described by akmal fairuz is not confined to one race, i think the root causes are similar.

The recent tragedy of Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, 8 years old (al-fatihah) gave me cause to think about the society we are becoming today.

Being a self-analyst deep down, i pondered long about the tragedy: how can somebody commit such a heinous crime on such innocent children? what motivates them? what are the external factors? has the police profiled such crimesters? why do they become the monsters today?

This is an interesting experiment on subliminal messaging. Check out this video as it speaks for itself.