1. Why Do Muslims Break Their Fast With Dates? Sugar? Cultural Tradition?
Several reasons: date palm trees originated in the Middle East, high sugar content to break fast helps with dizziness and headaches and easy to digest after fasting all day, the Prophet Muhammad did the same with dates or with a few sips of water, dates have a holy stature since they're mentioned in the Q'aran 22 times.
2. What Do Muslim Athletes/Bodybuilders Do During Ramadan Fast?
“The perfect time to train is 2 hours after eating. During Ramadan the body is out of food and water which means out of energy. People may have a headache while training and may have muscle loss instead. In order to grow your muscles, you must feed them properly at least five times a day with meals rich in calories, carbohydrates and protein which is hard to keep up with during Ramadan. If lucky the muscle can be sustained if not lost.” A lot of bodybuilders will focus on carb cycling which helps to burn fat during Ramadan.
3. Do People Die During Ramadan From Fasting And Heat?
In Karachi, Pakistan, in late June 2015, the effects of a heat wave were exacerbated by Ramadan fasting, killing over 1,200 people.
4. Why Does the Date Of Ramadan Shift Each Year? Is It Because Of Moon Phases?
Ramadan comes at a different time every year because it is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, a date-keeping system based on lunar cycles, unlike the Gregorian calendar (the one used by most of the world, including the U.S.), which is based on the solar year. A new month begins with the appearance of the new moon, or the crescent moon, and ends with the next appearance of a new moon. The month of Ramadan thus moves backwards about 10 days every year relative to the Gregorian calendar.
5. How Long Does the Lent Period Last In the Christian Religion?
Lent is traditionally known to be 40 days in duration; however, Lent is technically 46 days in total when you add in each Sunday. The purpose of Lent is supposed to resemble the 40 day and 40-night fast of Jesus in the desert.
6. Bombing of Baghdad, Where, When, How Long, By Whom, What Provoked?
March 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq vowing to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and end the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. That initial effort to "decapitate" Iraq's leadership with air strikes fails, clearing the way for a ground invasion. That lasted until May, when President Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq. There is continuing violence and organized resistance for months. Saddam Hussein is captured by U.S. forces in December, there are some democratic elections, and then he is eventually tried and executed by hanging in late 2006. In 2005, when WMD intelligence proved illusory and a violent insurgency arose, the war lost public support. In the years since, there have been over 4,700 U.S. and allied troop deaths, and more than one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians have been killed. Meanwhile, questions linger over Iraq's fractious political situation. U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in 2009, and officially ended its combat mission in Iraq in 2010.
7. Was 9/11 the Catalyst For the U.S. Invasion Of Iraq?
Events on 9/11 gave President George W. Bush a sense of urgency to counterterrorism against al-Qaeda and any perceived anti-Americanness. It is said that the decision to invade Iraq was made finally and exclusively by the President of the United States, as if he were being mind-controlled by Usama bin Laden. "In the aftermath of 9/11, Washington [D.C.] fantasized about remaking the world in its image [to fight anti-American terrorism]." Saddam represented that anti-Americanness to the Bush administration. Oil was also a contributing factor.
8. Is Afghanistan Part Of the Middle East?
The Bush admin said yes, but it's really not. Afghanistan is NEAR the middle east, but actually part of South Central Asia/Far East. The Bush administration coined the term "Greater Middle East" which included Afghanistan.
9. Brief Timeline Of 90s-2000s Iraq/Kuwait/Afghanistan
Following the Iran-Iraq War in the 80s, Iraq was in serious debt. In an attempt to recoup some of the monetary losses of the war, Saddam Hussein (the president of Iraq at the time) planned to attack Kuwait, Iraq’s rich neighbor, and take their wealth as his own. Saddam was also upset at Kuwait for pumping too much oil, causing the price per barrel to drop and, in his mind, further contributing to Iraq’s financial problems. In an attempt to ease tensions between these two countries, other Middle Eastern nations set up diplomatic talks between Iraq and Kuwait, which were held in Saudi Arabia in July 1990. Peace talks were going well, but to everyone’s surprise, Iraq announced a postponement of peace talks on August 2nd,1990, and launched an attack on Kuwait. Within a few days, Iraq had overrun the country. They set up their own government before annexing the country and claiming it as a province of Iraq. The invasion of Kuwait was immediately met with international condemnation, and many countries imposed severe sanctions on Iraq. After several attempts of persuasion, the UN gave Iraq one final chance to withdraw from Kuwait and set a deadline of January 15th, 1991. After this deadline, the coalition against Iraq was empowered to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait. Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait, which led to military interventions now known as the First Gulf War. After seven long months, Iraq was forced out of Kuwait by UN forces, but not before destroying several oil wells in a “scorched earth” strategy. Saddam Hussein was eventually removed from power in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, stemming from claims that Iraq had developed a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program. Conflict between Iraqi and US forces continued for several years following the invasion, as an insurgency emerged to oppose the coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. The United States responded with a buildup of 170,000 troops in 2007. This buildup gave greater control to Iraq's government and military while also giving the United States a greater say in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq. Eventually, Iraq was able to establish a stable government system, and the US withdrew the last combat troops from Iraq on December 18th, 2011.
Following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, the Afghan government was very unstable. This led to the militia group, the Taliban, rising to power in 1995. Tired from years of war and famine and happy that they were upholding traditional Islamic values, the Afghan people accepted them into power. The Taliban quickly started making major changes, some of which included curtailing the employment and education of women. During this time, there are also devastating droughts that leave more than a million Afghans fleeing from the country. In 2000, when the US asked them to extradite Osama Bin Laden (who was believed to be hiding in Afghanistan) for bombing two American embassies in Africa, the Taliban declined and were punished by the UN with sanctions.
10. Was Saddam All Bad, What Is the Ratio Of Bad To Good From Saddam?
"Hussein was typical of many autocratic leaders in the Middle East who ruled with an iron hand, brutally dealt with challenges to their regime yet parsed out enough benefits to their citizens to quiet the so-called "Arab street." Many of them were propped up in power by Western countries who saw them as bulwarks against the Soviet Union and more radical alternatives. Hussein has been lauded in the past by some for modernizing Iraq, using its oil wealth to improve conditions for the general population. 1. He improved women's basic rights in Iraq (women's rights became guaranteed and respected and more women served in government), 2. He gave a lot of money to charity, (even in the U.S.) 3. He handled the country's wealth responsibly to develop its infrastructure esp. in comparison to neighboring countries squandering their oil wealth, 4. He mandated education for both sexes in all regions of Iraq and 5. He led infrastructure projects that improved expressways, power lines and social services, schools, roads, public housing, public-health system, which made the everyday lives of Iraqis better during a brief period."
11. How Much Oil Does Iraq Have? Shaimaa Mentioned She Heard the Oil There "Never Ends Til the End Of Time."
Iraq has 112.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, or about 10 percent of the world’s known remaining oil--making it a distant second to Saudi Arabia, which possesses some 300 billion barrels, or one-quarter of the world’s known reserves. Without Net Exports, there would be about 457 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves.
12. Desert Storm vs. Desert Shield? (Chris's Baseball Card).
The Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. The war consisted of two phases the first was codenamed Operation Desert Shield (2 August 1990 – 17 January 1991) for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia. And the second was Operation Desert Storm (17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991) was the combat phase.
13. The Economy Of Iraq vs Syria vs Jordan In 2006ish
In a December 2006 Newsweek International article, a study by Global Insight in London was reported to show "that Civil war or not, Iraq has an economy, and—mother of all surprises—it's doing remarkably well. Real estate is booming. Construction, retail and wholesale trade sectors are healthy, too, according to the report.
The Syrian economy experienced strong growth throughout the 1990s, and into the 2000s. Syria's per capita GDP was US $4,058 in 2010. While the government's neoliberal reforms indeed contributed to ramping up trade and invigorating the private sector, these were accompanied by rising inequality, declining public services, and increasingly overt forms of corruption, which ultimately helped fuel protests in 2011.
Jordan's economy had been growing at an annual rate of 8% between 1999 and 2008. However, growth has slowed to 2% after the Arab Spring in 2011. The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. The substantial increase of the population, coupled with slowed economic growth and rising public debt led to a worsening of poverty and unemployment in the country.
14. Maternal Mortality Rate In Iraq, Life Span, Infant Mortality Rate In Iraq
Maternal mortality rate went up drastically from 2003-06 (with the war) and is now at 79. For comparison, the U.S. is a 19, and Sweden is a 4 (this is the # of deaths per 100,000 women).
Comments