WWSD?
What would Sandy do?
Posted on 10/14/2006 3:41:13 PM PDT by Pokey78
The 2012 London Olympics have been plunged into controversy by the discovery that the Games will clash with Ramadan, the most holy month in the Islamic calendar.
The clash will put Muslim athletes at a disadvantage as they will be expected to fast from sunrise to sunset for the entire duration of the Games.
In 2012, Ramadan will take place from July 21 to August 20, while the Olympics run from July 27 to August 12.
An anticipated 3,000 Muslim competitors are expected to be affected.
About a quarter of the 11,099 athletes who took part in the 2004 Athens Olympics came from countries with predominantly Muslim populations.
Because the Muslim calendar is based on a lunar cycle, the ninth month of Ramadan - which runs from the appearance of one new crescent moon to the next - gets earlier by around 11 days each year.
The clash will be a huge embarrassment for Lord Coe, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, and London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who have been keen to ensure the Games involve all Britain's ethnic communities.
Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "They would not have organised this at Christmas. It is equally stupid to organise it at Ramadan.
"It shows a complete lack of awareness and sensitivity.
"This is going to disadvantage the athletes and alienate the Asian communities by saying they don't matter.
"It's not only going to affect the participants it's going to affect all the people who want to watch the Games.
"They won't want to travel during Ramadan and they won't want to watch sport. It's a spiritual time."
Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, an imam on the Muslim Council of Great Britain, said: "I'm sure the athletes will seek advice from their scholars.
"They are obviously going to be at a disadvantage because other competitors will be drinking and keeping up their energy levels.
"But they are athletes and I am sure they will train their bodies to cope with this.
"A Muslim might feel it would have been nice to avoid this month but life doesn't stop for Muslims during Ramadan even though they are fasting.
"The best thing for a Muslim is to continue his or her life as normal. This is the real test."
The British Olympic Association is now planning a meeting with the organisers of London 2012 to discuss how the timing will affect UK Muslim athletes.
And Muslim countries such as Turkey are calling for the date to be changed.
Togay Bayalti, president of the National Olympic Committee of Turkey, said: "This will be difficult for Muslim athletes.
"They don't have to observe Ramadan if they are doing sport and travelling but they will have to decide whether it is important to them.
"It would be nice for the friendship of the Games if they had chosen a different date."
The International Olympics Committee insisted the Games take place some time between July 15 to August 31, giving more than a week either side of Ramadan.
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said: "We give a window to the five bid cities. The host city selects the dates within that window.
"The Games bring together virtually every religion and creed. How to deal with religious clashes is up to the athletes."
Joanna Manning Cooper, spokeswoman for London 2012, said: "We did know about it when we submitted our bid and we have always believed we could find ways to accommodate it.
"We had lots of things to consider when we submitted our dates, including the fact that transport will be less crowded in the summer holiday.
"We also need 70,000 volunteers and this is the best time to find them.
"We are working with the Muslim Council of Great Britain to find ways to accommodate Ramadan during the London Games."
Muslims and Dems have at least one thing in common--the intense need to always, always portray themselves as victims.
Fast or no fast, I still favor them to win the artistic beheading and suicide vest relay races.
The sooner civilization cuts this cancer out of it's body the better. If it doesn't , it'll kill it's host.
If believing in one's God means you're not willing to sacrifice your playing in a game, your faith can't mean very much to you, can it? Let these people whine on, it might wake a few of us up.
ramadamn ?
too damn bad.
don't come. we don't care, do you understand that? we DON'T CARE.
Worse yet it is in the Holy City of Londonistan. (Any city with a beat up old mosque is a Muslim holy city and London has at least one beat up old mosque).
They DO seem to get their burquas in a twist over every little thing, don't they? It just doesn't take much to p*ss off a muslim now days.
Do the Muslims not do any of these things during Ramadan?
Probably none of these lowlifes are capable of the reasoned sacrifice of Eric Liddell.
What would Sandy do?
How can they? The Summer Olympics have run at this time for decades. The entire competition calendar for years is built around this time. Now they are supposed to suddenly adjust it to suit the demented worshippers of Satan? No way. Besides the only Muslims who ever do well are Black Africans--whose ancestors were tortured and murdered to force Islam upon them. Hardly something we should commemorate.
Well, maybe they should be showing up at all. After all the Olympics are pagan in origin. Surely we can get a selection of Muslim clerics to issue fatwas declaring that participation is shirk, and thus forbidden to Muslims.
I don't give a Ramadamadingdong what these whingers think. Let 'em find some other athletic event to attend.
The International Olympics Committee members now deserve to be on the Muzzie Protest and Behead list - they have insulted Allah.
Is there ANYTHING that the Muslimes are NOT angry about?
Screw em, kill em all and let allah sort em out.
And just which medals did this large number of contestants win?
(Picturing burka beach volly ball)
Oh FFS. Do these bastard get agry about everything? I can see a similar headline as ridiculous. "Paint dries on Ramadan,muslims angry." Savage idiots the whole lot of them.
I bet they'd have no trouble attending if the events included Long Distance Running In a Suicide Vest--men's and women's and juniors divisions, all medals awarded postumously--and Team Beheading.
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