Start of Ramadhan
So today is the start of Ramadhan. The BBC have made a lovely pictorial at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/5375686.stm. Ramadhan is a month where Muslims fast throughout. This includes not eating or drinking between dawn and dusk. However fasting is more about cleansing the soul, the abstention from food and drink during daylight helps us in this task by increasing willpower and self-control. We all pray that this month is used as an opportunity to stop the violence in Iraq and other Muslim dominated places in the world. If these 30 days there is a cessation in hostilities, maybe the parties involved can realise that they can reolve issues in a peaceful and more humane way.