Aroosak
Junior Member
:salam2:
I figured since I posted a story about intolerance and islamophobia in Canada (which always has a bumming effect on me) I would post a story about tolerance to balance things out. Don't we all need to sometimes read something that doesn't scream hate?!
Michigan prep team moves to night practice during Ramadan
By Mick McCabe, Detroit Free Press
Fordson (Dearborn, Mich.) quarterback and safety Mohammad Faraj fully understands and appreciates Ramadan.
"Ramadan means we go through the struggles our prophet went through for 30 days — no drinking or no food," he said. "Unfortunately, we have to do it for several hours, but, hey, he had to do it for that long period of time."
Yes, but with all due respect, the prophet never had to try to play high school football with no food or water.
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims go without food and drink from sunrise to sunset — an issue if you are trying to play football in the scorching Michigan temperatures this summer.
So Fordson coach Fouad Zaban found a way to keep his players fed and hydrated as they prepare for the season. Practices begin at 11 p.m., and the players are home by 4:30 a.m.
In Zaban's previous four years as coach, Ramadan, based on the lunar calendar, had begun after the regular season started.
"The lunar calendar moves up 10 or 12 days every year, so we knew it was going to fall at this time," said Zaban, 40, a former Tractors player.
The more Zaban and Fordson athletic officials talked about the practice time, the more sense it made, especially in preseason when practices are the longest and most rugged.
"Ultimately, it's a health and safety issue," Zaban said. "That's the reason we went with it."
The biggest surprise for Zaban was how well the change was accepted by the players at a school coming off a one-loss season and with four state titles and three runner-up finishes since it opened in 1928. The bonus is that it is significantly cooler at 11 p.m. than it is at 11 a.m.
"I was really excited, I love it. All the guys do," Fordson running back-cornerback Rabeah Beydoun said. "For one thing, it's under the lights. It's like game time. Second, we can actually eat and come out here. Third, we've got fans who come out and support us at night."
Ramadan is a challenge most teams don't face. But Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, is the U.S. city with the largest number of Arab Americans, making up nearly 30% of the city's population, according to the 2000 census.
Some players will not fast on game days.
"Practice week, we'd all do our fast, but game day is one day I'd miss," Beydoun said. "I'd get myself a good breakfast and drink water to perform to the best of my ability and do what's best for the team. I'd make the day up after Ramadan is over."
Other players choose to continue to fast on game days.
"It's a big religious practice over here; we've got to do it," Faraj said.
Fasting ends at sundown, which happens to be at halftime. For most players, it's their first opportunity of the day to eat and drink. "We don't have them gorge," Zaban said. "We don't have subs or sandwiches. We don't do that. What's really good and has a lot of fiber and sugar is dates, and we have them."
Zaban met resistance when he first talked about the late practice, but only one parent has complained.
"Many thought it wasn't a smart idea, but it was a smart idea," Faraj said. "I'm happy Coach Zaban did this, because it gives us time to eat before morning prayer and when we wake up at 6 it leaves us 21/2 hours before we can eat and do all this again."
Ramadan continues through the first two weeks of the regular season, so Zaban will begin adjusting the practice time to get the players ready for their opener Aug. 27 — at 7 p.m.
"We can play at 11, we can play at 1, we can play at 2," Beydoun said. "We'll play at whatever time they want. Seven o'clock will be fine with us."
I figured since I posted a story about intolerance and islamophobia in Canada (which always has a bumming effect on me) I would post a story about tolerance to balance things out. Don't we all need to sometimes read something that doesn't scream hate?!
Michigan prep team moves to night practice during Ramadan
By Mick McCabe, Detroit Free Press
Fordson (Dearborn, Mich.) quarterback and safety Mohammad Faraj fully understands and appreciates Ramadan.
"Ramadan means we go through the struggles our prophet went through for 30 days — no drinking or no food," he said. "Unfortunately, we have to do it for several hours, but, hey, he had to do it for that long period of time."
Yes, but with all due respect, the prophet never had to try to play high school football with no food or water.
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims go without food and drink from sunrise to sunset — an issue if you are trying to play football in the scorching Michigan temperatures this summer.
So Fordson coach Fouad Zaban found a way to keep his players fed and hydrated as they prepare for the season. Practices begin at 11 p.m., and the players are home by 4:30 a.m.
In Zaban's previous four years as coach, Ramadan, based on the lunar calendar, had begun after the regular season started.
"The lunar calendar moves up 10 or 12 days every year, so we knew it was going to fall at this time," said Zaban, 40, a former Tractors player.
The more Zaban and Fordson athletic officials talked about the practice time, the more sense it made, especially in preseason when practices are the longest and most rugged.
"Ultimately, it's a health and safety issue," Zaban said. "That's the reason we went with it."
The biggest surprise for Zaban was how well the change was accepted by the players at a school coming off a one-loss season and with four state titles and three runner-up finishes since it opened in 1928. The bonus is that it is significantly cooler at 11 p.m. than it is at 11 a.m.
"I was really excited, I love it. All the guys do," Fordson running back-cornerback Rabeah Beydoun said. "For one thing, it's under the lights. It's like game time. Second, we can actually eat and come out here. Third, we've got fans who come out and support us at night."
Ramadan is a challenge most teams don't face. But Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, is the U.S. city with the largest number of Arab Americans, making up nearly 30% of the city's population, according to the 2000 census.
Some players will not fast on game days.
"Practice week, we'd all do our fast, but game day is one day I'd miss," Beydoun said. "I'd get myself a good breakfast and drink water to perform to the best of my ability and do what's best for the team. I'd make the day up after Ramadan is over."
Other players choose to continue to fast on game days.
"It's a big religious practice over here; we've got to do it," Faraj said.
Fasting ends at sundown, which happens to be at halftime. For most players, it's their first opportunity of the day to eat and drink. "We don't have them gorge," Zaban said. "We don't have subs or sandwiches. We don't do that. What's really good and has a lot of fiber and sugar is dates, and we have them."
Zaban met resistance when he first talked about the late practice, but only one parent has complained.
"Many thought it wasn't a smart idea, but it was a smart idea," Faraj said. "I'm happy Coach Zaban did this, because it gives us time to eat before morning prayer and when we wake up at 6 it leaves us 21/2 hours before we can eat and do all this again."
Ramadan continues through the first two weeks of the regular season, so Zaban will begin adjusting the practice time to get the players ready for their opener Aug. 27 — at 7 p.m.
"We can play at 11, we can play at 1, we can play at 2," Beydoun said. "We'll play at whatever time they want. Seven o'clock will be fine with us."