On Jul 20, 2012, at 11:37 AM, Behcet Sarikaya wrote:
I don't understand why this issue is coming up.
Maybe you don't know, IETF 84 falls in the month of Ramadan for
Muslims and nobody asked to change it?
Two comments, a question, and a suggestion.
One, the muslims in the crowd had the opportunity, just as anyone else in the
IETF did. I don't personally keep track of Ramadan, and I don't expect the
muslims to keep track of Easter for me. I was glad to hear Andy's mention of
Pesach; that's another one I wouldn't know.
Two - that's a month, not a weekend or a day. The larger the interval you want
to put off limits, the more interactions it has.
If you are personally a Muslim, this is a question for you; if not, then its a
question for the Muslims on the list.
Easter is a day in which Christians do little besides Easter-related things -
sunrise services, egg hunts (which I can explain how they relate to Easter, but
you'll laugh, as it has nothing to do with the central issue of Easter), and
general family time. Good Friday through Easter, as I mentioned, is a common
vacation weekend in Europe apart from religious significance. Pesach (Passover,
which is a day, and the days of unleavened bread, which are the following week)
is eight days that observing Jews usually spend close to home - or in Jerusalem
- for various reasons.
Tell me about Ramadan? My understanding
(http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Ramadan) is that during Ramadan one wants to
be not far from a Mosque and will want restaurants that cater to ḥalāl (which
are generally true anyway). However, what I find on the net and get from Muslim
friends is not "don't travel during Ramadan"; it's "travel wisely during
Ramadan" (http://islam.about.com/od/dietarylaw/a/halal_travel.htm). Fasting has
its issues, but if one is primarily eating after sundown, Muslim restaurants
will be open after sundown, which coincidentally is the time that we set aside
for dinner.
Is there an expectation among Muslims that travel is to be avoided during
Ramadan? Are there specific days in Ramadan that should be spent at home?
I'd suggest that Muslims mark up
https://www.ietf.org/registration/MeetingWiki/wiki/ietf84/ with Mosque
locations and ḥalāl restaurants.
http://www.islamicfinder.org/prayerDetail.php?city=Vancouver&state=BC&country=canada