Ramadan: Young Muslims reveal their fasting stories

There are nearly three million Muslims in the UK and every year many go without food or water for hours at a time.

They do it to mark the holy month of Ramadan, which lasts around 30 days and focuses on peace and reflection.

As well as fasting, you can't smoke, have sex or even gossip in that time, because it's a period dedicated to discipline and prayer.

Find out more about Ramadan and what it involves.

Ramadan is marked globally and begins at different times each year, depending on when the crescent moon is seen.

The basic principle is this: Fasting begins when the sun rises and ends when it sets.

Daylight hours last longer in the UK than in the Middle East, so fasting hours for UK Muslims can be very long.

Some have said it is too long.

But there is no obligation to fast, as some Muslims have been telling Newsbeat.

Aisha, Ali, Eshaan and Zahrah have different viewpoints on fasting

"Islam is more negotiable than people think," says 20-year-old Aisha Simon.

She went to Glastonbury this year and is studying at university so has found the long hours tricky.

"Ramadan is something very spiritual and personal. The days are long but my religion lets me make up for it later."

Aisha was born and raised by a German father who converted to Islam and by a Maldivian mother.

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She says not fasting doesn't mean she isn't observing her faith.

"Some people are surprised when they find out I'm a Muslim and sometimes do fast.

"You often see the minority of fanatics who use Islam as a tool to scare people and who are killing the innocent during Ramadan too, which is a time of respect and restraint from hatred.

"Those thugs who killed people in Tunisia, Kuwait and in France during the holy month forgot what Islam meant - peace and not war."

'Anorexia stops me from fasting'

Habiba says if she fasted it would be for anorexia which makes her feel ashamed

Habiba Khanom, 22, avoids fasting because she suffers from anorexia.

She says she would use Ramadan to lose weight, not for spiritual reasons.

"My anorexia is more powerful than me thinking of God, and I would be a hypocrite if I fasted just for the sake of it.

"At this point, I am quite ashamed that if I did fast, it would be for anorexia. It would be to lose the weight which destroys the purpose."

Habiba has had the eating disorder since she was 10 and found little support to begin with.

"It's rare to find Muslims with eating disorders in the outside world but it is so much easier to find them online.

"During Ramadan my family say, 'You might as well fast, you don't eat anyway,' which is quite triggering."

She thinks attitudes have changed more now and that her family accepts her condition is an illness and not something she has a choice in.

Long-term illness

Zahrah Fohim, 28, cannot fast during Ramadan as she is on long-term medication. She has to take antibiotics every day.

"I have only been criticised once for not fasting, by someone who I hardly knew. This person said I was not a Muslim because I was not doing Ramadan.

"I ignored the comment but deep down I wanted to say that it's God that will judge me on judgement day and not you."

Before she went on medication, Zahrah had never fasted.

"I do wish I knew what it was like to go with real hunger. I feel that it is such a spiritual time and it makes us appreciate things we have."

If they are not fasting, Muslims are encouraged to give to charity, often providing a day's food to someone in need for every fast missed.

The sceptic

Eshaan Akhbar is a stand-up comedian and stopped fasting a few years ago.

"I can't do it, I love women and food," he jokes.

"It was difficult fasting, I'm a big guy, I like food. When I fasted in the past, I did feel like I was part of a community at the time but that community seemed too exclusive."

He now feels that to observe Ramadan is entirely a personal choice.

"I don't believe in any physical manifestations of one's faith in Islam. I think that the soul and the body should remain separate."

Eshaan admires those who are able to fast in non-Muslim countries.

"At the time Ramadan came first to be, when Islam was founded, it probably made sense.

"Now in Muslim countries around the world, the infrastructure allows you to fast. You don't have to go to work all day, schools are closed early and so are shops. "

He also thinks there is a lot of hypocrisy.

"There can be arrogance amongst those who fast towards others who don't want to or can't fast.

"These kinds of people revert back to their old ways as soon as Ramadan is over. What's the point in that?"

Mental and spiritual

When it comes to children, Islam states that fasting is not required, but some still want to try it.

Seventeen-year-old Dean Ali Tounsi started to fast properly for the whole month of Ramadan aged 13.

"At first it was difficult when I did my first full month fast but then the days would get easier. To take my mind off things, I go out with my mates during the day, read and watch TV.

"I was just fasting half days at age 11 in order to mentally and spiritually train myself for when I do it for a whole month."

He says the long hours are tough.

"I've fasted in Morocco before and it is much easier as everyone is fasting compared to the UK.

"I did find fasting this year challenging as the days are longer and I would sometimes get tired.

Breaking the fast

"The best part of Ramadan for me is the moment I can taste my first cup of water as soon as the sun sets.

"Then the whole evening I stay up and eat and relax with my family."

The first meal you eat after ending the fast is called Iftar.

Most Muslims break their fast with a piece of fruit, like a date.

The tradition goes back to when Islam's holy Prophet Muhammad was fasting in the desert.

The next step is to eat a big meal, and another the following day.

The food eaten differs from country to country, but an Iftar meal generally involves fresh fruits and vegetables, soups, meat curries and kebabs.

Ramadan is due to end on 18 July.

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