During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are expected to
abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset, when they break
their fast with a meal known as Iftar. But how about those who are competing for the gold at this year's Olympics?
This year's event will mark the first time that the Summer
Games will be held during the Muslim fasting month since the
1980 Moscow Olympics. Given that 11 out of the 30 Malaysian athletes
going to London are Muslim, local Islamic and Olympic officials have
decided to excuse them from fasting until after the games.
A senior member of the National Fatwa Council (Malaysia's top religious authority) has agreed that the athletes can postpone their fast until after the Games as they are competing at an international event for the nation's honour, but they'll have to make up for it after the games.
Malaysia's athletes will be competing in nine sports for this year's
Olympics including archery, cycling, shooting, sailing and track and
field. Sieh Kok Chi, secretary of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, also
said Olympic athletes should not fast while competing. He told AFP:
"It is a once in their lifetime chance to participate in the Olympics.
They should opt out from fasting for one or two days so that they stand a
chance of winning a medal,"
Malaysian shooter Nur Suryani Mohamad Taibi, who grabbed international headlines after it was revealed she will be competing despite being eight months pregnant, has said all Muslims athletes should be excused from fasting during competition:
"Islam is lenient. It is not a religion that forces people. Actually when we go to London we are termed as travellers. Islam allows us to postpone our fasting," she said.