As Muslims worldwide anticipate the holy month of Ramadan, Anwar Deen, a Muslim with type 2 diabetes in Australia, is eagerly waiting to fast during Ramadan this year. Despite medical advice against fasting, she’s participating in the Diabetes Ramadan Preparation Clinic in Logan, an Australian first.
The clinic, part of Logan Endocrine and Diabetes Services (LEADS), helps Muslims with diabetes prepare for safe fasting.
“For me, no fasting, I am not happy,” Anwar told ABC News.
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Director of the Slacks Creek Mosque Imam Akram Buksh said one of the frequently asked questions of Islamic religious leaders during Ramadan is: “Am I able to fast?”
“Our Quran clearly mentions that generally, if a person is sick or unable to fast due to health reasons, that is one of the conditions not to fast,” he said.
“The common answer that we give them is, ‘Go to the professionals, go to those people that have knowledge regarding your circumstance and whatever they advise, follow’.
“If the doctor says that fasting is no good for you, then you should not fast. But if the doctors say that, ‘You know what, we can adjust this or that, your medication, and you’re in the safe zone, it’s okay to fast’.”
Safe Ramadan
Clinical lead at the Ramadan preparation clinic, endocrinologist Kathryn Berkman, said the Ramadan clinic was established this year to provide support to patients of a city regarded as a culturally diverse catchment.
“As far as I know, this is the first Australian-based dedicated clinic to provide this service,” Dr Berkman said.
LEADS clinical director Gaurav Puri said while they developed Ramadan clinic for the Logan area, Muslims in other parts of Queensland can make telemedicine appointments.
“We would like to ideally see them before they start the fasting period to understand what treatment they are on and start planning the fasting period for them,” Dr Puri said.
“During the fasting, we’ll continue to monitor and assist them. We can do those through face-to-face clinics. We can do that through phone calls, we can do it through telehealth clinics.
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Hijri calendar. It is the month during which virtuous and devout populaces of Islam fast from Suhur at sunrise to Iftar at sunset.
It begins at the sighting of the new crescent moon – expected to be on March 10 — and will continue until sundown on April 9.