Before reading the article:
What do you know about Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that began on Sunday?
Read the short article “Ramadan Is Here. What Islam’s Holiest Month Is About.” Or watch this three-minute video from history.com to learn more about Ramadan. Then respond to the following questions:
• What does Ramadan commemorate?
• How is it observed? What is the spiritual significance of this observation?
• Have you ever fasted, or abstained from something, for religious reasons? What was the experience like? What, if anything, did you learn from it?
Now, read the article, “While Enes Kanter is Observing Ramadan, the World Will Be Watching Him,” and answer the following questions:
1. Enes Kanter has fasted for Ramadan many times. Why is his fast this year different?
2. What is fasting like for Kanter, who has spent Ramadan around the world, often as the only Muslim on his basketball team?
3. Why does Kanter make it a point of telling the teams he plays for about his duties of faith?
4. How do his coaches and teammates make an effort to accommodate these duties?
5. What has Kanter learned from fasting?
6. According to Dr. Richard Bloomer, how might fasting affect an athlete’s performance? What is the most important factor in determining whether fasting helps or hurts a player?
7. According to Kanter and the former football player Tareq Azim, how has fasting affected their performances?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
Kanter has made it a point to inform his teams about the duties of Islam, like eating halal, praying five times a day and observing Ramadan. His coaches and teammates have made an effort to ask questions, educate themselves and even partake in some of these religious practices.
Can you recall a time when someone took the time to learn about your religion, beliefs or culture? How did it make you feel and why? Have you ever tried to learn about someone else’s religion or beliefs? What did you find out that you didn’t know before?
How important do you think it is to learn about religions and beliefs other than your own? Why?
