September 13, 2007
Ramadan is All About Fasting — and Food
by Tim Townsend
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
It is a particular quirk of Ramadan that while the Muslim holiday revolves around fasting, it is also a celebration of food -- Bosnian cevapi, Indonesian babi guling, Bangladeshi boti kababs, Malaysian kuih, Tunisian chakchouka.
For the next month, Muslims will fast from dawn to sunset each day. Fasting, or sawm, is one of the five pillars of Islam. Each evening during Ramadan Muslims, will break their 13- to 14-hour fast with a frequently festive communal meal called the iftar. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with a feast called Eid ul-Fitr.
Ramadan is a busy time of year for food-related businesses that cater to Muslims.
"Business is very good this month," said Rashed Kazmi, owner of Mideast Market in Ballwin. "It's like Christmas."
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