Thread by @luminatus1

"So for me personally Ramadan not only represents surrender & submission to God
but also personal friendship & respect which for me goes beyond religious affiliation, race & gender

Connecting us with our deeper essence, our spiritual identity as servants of God"

https://twitter.com/Nima_Suchak/status/1325392668671807490

As I was growing up in London I noticed my grandfather, a devout Hindu was fasting late at night alone

I later found out that the reason for him for observing Ramadan goes back to the World War 2

Barely 18, he was in the Kenya Rifles Regiment in the British Army fighting under field Marshall Montgomery in the siege of Tubbruk in Middle East

My grandfather was in the frontline when a fellow soldier was shot during battle & fell to the ground

My grandfather immediately laid down his weapons & tried in vain to offer his friend some water in his final moments
However, the soldier was a Muslim & it was Ramadan & he refused to take the water

He told my grandfather he was fasting for Ramadan so right there on the battle field
knowing his friend only had moments to live, my grandfather promised that if he accepted the water he would fast for Ramadan on his behalf

And this is something he did do till late in to his life, my grandfather was 65 when he passed away
I can stll remember him observing the fast alone in our household

So for me personally Ramadan not only represents surrender & submission to God
but also personal friendship & respect which for me goes beyond religious affiliation, race & gender

Connecting us with our deeper essence, our spiritual identity as servants of God

*Tobruk