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本文英文原文转载自BBC网站，原链接地址： http://www./programmes/p02xbcjj 音频下载自BBC Podcast网站，原链接地址： http://www./programmes/p00szxv6/episodes/downloads 因我精力有限，本系列只能不定期放出，目前是每周一期，未来不能保证。建议朋友们到上述两个网址（可在手机上长按网址后在弹出的选项中选择“复制”）自行下载文本和听力MP3对照收听。 ------------------------ 导读：演讲者从穆斯林的斋月说起，谈到斋月结束时信徒间的相互拥抱——可能是陌生人，以及英美国家、特别是英国对肢体接触的态度变化，由此结论：肢体触摸对人与人的关系有益无害。 这使我想起前面我写的一篇《肢体接触、温情爱抚中的亲子亲密关系》，说的也是这个话题。点击本文底部左下角“阅读原文”按钮即可查看这篇文章。 ------------------------ The Muslim month of Ramadan today draws to a close. For weeks, millions of believers around the world have adopted an austere lifestyle change, a kind of hardcore detox, involving no food or drink during the daylight hours. Waistlines contract, charitable giving expands, prayers are heard, and there is a general sense of humble reconnection with God. The fast ends, as it has done today, with the festival of Eid, when patience gives way to thankfulness. There is a prayer and a sermon, and then, as the worshippers depart, one last act. It is customary to embrace one’s fellow worshippers. The point is solidarity: we have come through this together, and we are united in fellowship. But an embrace, the very last action of Ramadan, is not a trivial thing, particularly when one is conferring a warm hug on a total stranger. Muslim cultures, like Mediterranean and African cultures, tend to like physical contact. Of course, public touching across the gender divide is strongly frowned upon. But otherwise, and not just in families, cheek-kissing, touching during conversations, hugs of various kinds and levels of enthusiasm, form part of daily life. Traditionally, the British have perhaps been less keen on such displays. Remember the disapproving press headlines a few years back when Michelle Obama embraced the Queen. That’s changing rapidly. Where an England cricketer would once have been congratulated with the murmured words, Good show, and perhaps receive a pat on the back, now he is smothered with physical displays of affection from his teammates. In our entertainment culture this has become even more intense: apparently the BBC television show The Voice shows us over a hundred hugs per episode. We have changed, we are more demonstrative, and British reserve is increasingly a thing of the past. Why is this happening? Could it be that as other forms of social connection, like family and neighbourhood, are being eroded, that we compensate with an extravaganza of touchy-feely greetings? I’m not sure. But in any case, the Muslim culture of hugging nowadays seems much less foreign. A hug, however, is much more than a greeting or a fond farewell. Medical science seems to be telling us that touch, perhaps the most indispensable sense, is vital to our wellbeing. Hugging releases hormones like oxytocin, which reduces blood pressure and improves memory. Studies suggest that babies are more likely to die if they are never touched. And so the latest alternative therapy is, believe it or not, cuddle therapy, which has its own qualifications and professional associations. Going too far? I think not. The Holy Prophet of Islam would very frequently embrace people. I imagine the founders of all religions did the same. Touch is healing, affirmation, reassurance, and a healthy culture, surely, is one where people can naturally embrace. ------------------------ 背景介绍：以下内容转载自Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005： Ramadan I INTRODUCTION Ramadan, ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, the holy month of fasting for adult Muslims. According to the Qur'an (Koran), the sacred scripture of Islam, God requires the fast of Ramadan so that believers “may cultivate piety.” The month of Ramadan is particularly sacred to Muslims because the Qur’an was first revealed to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, during this month. II START OF RAMADAN In the pre-Islamic Arabic calendar, the month of Ramadan fell during the heat of summer. The word Ramadan means “scorcher” in Arabic. The early Arabic calendar, like the current Islamic calendar, was lunar. Because a lunar month has only 29 or 30 days, a year of 12 lunar months falls short of the 365 days in a solar calendar. In the pre-Islamic calendar, the lunar months kept their place in the seasons by the insertion of an extra month every two or three years. The Islamic calendar abolished this practice and fixed the Islamic year at 12 months totaling 354 days. As a result Ramadan occurs about 11 days earlier each year, and it rotates through the seasons in a cycle totaling about 33 years. In the year 2000 Ramadan began on November 27. The appearance of the new moon signals the beginning of Ramadan. The end of Ramadan is signaled by the sighting of the new moon of the next month, Shawwal. The new moon must be reported by at least two trustworthy witnesses. Because of this requirement, neither the beginning nor the end of Ramadan can be determined in advance. Depending on the visibility of the new moon, Ramadan can begin on a different date in different parts of the world. III FASTING Fasting during Ramadan is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam, the essential religious duties of all adult Muslims. These pillars are described in the Qur'an. Fasting, according to the Qur'an, begins each morning when “the white thread can be distinguished from the black thread of dawn.” It continues until sunset. Fasting consists of abstinence not only from food and drink but also from smoking, sexual relations, and the inhaling of fragrance. A Who Is Required to Fast All Muslims who have reached puberty and who are mentally and physically able to sustain fasting are obliged to fast during Ramadan. People who are sick or traveling, and pregnant or nursing women, are exempt from fasting, but they must later make up any missed days upon recovery or return, or after weaning. Women who are menstruating or bleeding after childbirth are not allowed to fast, but they too must make up missed days. The elderly and incurably sick need not fast, but they are expected to feed one poor person for every day of fasting they miss. B The Significance of Fasting Ramadan is a month of worship, and fasting is a means of fostering piety. Muslims celebrate the glory of Allah (God) during Ramadan and thank Him for revealing the Qur'an, which they consider a guide for humanity. Muslim thinkers emphasize the religious significance of fasting and its implications for self-purification and spiritual growth, rather than the outward observance of the many rules regarding the fast. Muhammad reportedly said, “He who does not abandon falsehood in word and action in accordance with fasting, God has no need that he should abandon his food and drink.” Al-Ghazali, an outstanding Islamic jurist, theologian, and mystic of the late 11th and early 12th centuries, observed that fasting has three levels. The first level, that of the common crowd, does not extend beyond literal observance of the laws regarding the fast. The second level consists in keeping all one’s senses and limbs from sin. The third and highest level consists in abstaining from all worldly desires and withdrawing the heart from everything except God. For those who achieve this level, thinking of anything but God or the Last Day or the world in relation to God and the Last Day breaks the fast. The third level is the one attained by saints and prophets. IV BEFORE AND AFTER FASTING Islamic practice, based on sayings of Muhammad, recommends that Muslims have a meal, called sahur, shortly before dawn during Ramadan. After sunset they should hasten the breaking of the fast with another meal, iftar. Iftar should be a light meal, taken hastily, before proceeding to sunset prayers. Providing iftar to others, especially to the poor, is considered highly meritorious. Many Muslims have iftar in the neighborhood mosque and invite friends, relatives, and neighbors to join them. V PRAYER Ramadan is a month marked by worship and charity. Muslims who belong to the Sunni group, the largest sect within Islam, perform special prayers in a mosque after the evening prayers. Over the course of the month, they recite the entire Qur'an. Umar I, whom the Sunnis proclaimed the second caliph (successor to Muhammad), introduced these prayers in the 7th century (see Caliphate). Muslims who belong to the Shia sect do not recognize the caliphs as legitimate successors and do not perform these prayers. Shia Muslims instead pray individually, rather than in congregation, at night during Ramadan. A I‘tikaf Muslims consider prayer and reciting of the Qur'an especially important during the last ten days of Ramadan. During this time many Muslims retreat to the mosque to pray in seclusion and draw closer to God, according to the practice of Muhammad. Some believers remain there day and night. The practice of seclusion in a mosque is known as i‘tikaf. B Laylat al-Qadr A special night of prayer occurs on the night when the first revelation of the Qur'an took place. There is no agreement about its exact date, but Sunnis generally observe Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Power, or Decree) on the 27th night of Ramadan. The Qur'an describes the Laylat al-Qadr as “better than a thousand months,” the night in which “angels and the Spirit descend, by the leave of their Lord, and it is peace till the rising of dawn.” Pious Muslims spend the better part of this night praying and reciting the Qur'an. VI END OF RAMADAN A festival called Eid al-Fitr (Feast of Fast-Breaking) marks the end of Ramadan. It begins with the sighting of the new moon on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month in the Islamic calendar, and generally lasts for three days. Muslims take part in communal prayers, either in a mosque or an open space outside the city, and everyone must offer charity to the poor. The celebration has an important social dimension as well. Cities and villages take on a festive look, and people wear their best clothes. Friends, relatives, and neighbors meet in mosques and on streets, or visit one another, exchanging congratulations and embracing each other. Contributed By: Ismail K. Poonawala Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. ------------------------ |
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