[Avodah] Referring to "the holy month of Ramadan"

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, Jun 15, 2018 at 11:18am EDT, Prof. Levine wrote on Areivim:
: What about referring to the "holy month of Ramadan"?  Aren't their
: restrictions regarding what a Jew is allowed to do when it comes to
: non-Jewish holidays?

Interesting question... Yes, if Moslems are aku"m. But Islam is
monotheistic. In fact, they're more pedantic about it than the Torah
requires. E.g. Many Moslems believe that the Torah's use of "Yad Hashem"
et al even acknowledging they are meant as metaphors shows Shaitan's
alleged corruption of the text.

So, it's not yom eideihem in the normal sense.

For that matter, one might even argue that many versions of Ramadan
observance are actually qadosh (in our sense of the word). They fast
to learn self-discipline and empathy for those who are less fortunate,
they give sadaqah to the poor (I'm bet you can guess that Arabic) and
there is a point of having a nightly meal, iftar, in fellowship with
the broader community, not alone or as a nuclear family. All values
the Beris Noach would want them to be fostering.

So, the previous intentionally provocative paragraph aside, is there
really a problem talking about Ramadan or referring to it as they do,
as "the holy month of"?

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The trick is learning to be passionate in one's
micha at aishdas.org        ideals, but compassionate to one's peers.
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