Tired because of Ramadan

Children who fast during Ramadan are getting younger and younger

A girl in Islam class

(Bild: APA/dpa/Oliver Berg)

Children who fast during Ramadan are getting younger and younger. This is "negligent", criticized Tugrul Kurt, Professor of Islamic Theology, on Monday. Teachers are also sounding the alarm: concentration is waning and fasting children are tired.

Physical education lessons are almost impossible without sufficient fluids, said compulsory school teacher representative Thomas Krebs on Ö1's "Morgenjournal". Although the Koran does not stipulate fasting for children and young people under the age of 14, there is pressure to abstain from eating and drinking. This could be from other children, parents, communities or preachers on social media, Krebs said.

Tugrul Kurt, Professor of Islamic Theology at the University of Vienna, reported that the preachers in particular are difficult to grasp and the situation is complex. It is "absurd" what they often preach. Many parents can no longer control what their eight or nine-year-old children look at on the internet. There are at least contact persons at churches who can be contacted if they recommend fasting to children.

Parents lack understanding
To counteract this trend, the professor recommends educational work. Teachers should talk to the parents of affected children. However, they are often intransigent, Krebs points out. According to him, Muslim pupils could just as easily give up sweets or their cell phones during Ramadan.

Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims. From sunrise to sunset, believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex. The fast is then broken at sunset. In some Islamic countries, there are even penalties if people (not just Muslims) eat, drink or smoke in public during the day in Ramadan.