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Ramadan dinner

31 Comments

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech in front of envoys from more than 40 Islamic nations who were invited for a meal of the iftar, or breaking of fast, during the month of Ramadan, at Abe's official residence in Tokyo on Tuesday night.

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31 Comments
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If it was the real break of fasting, those guys standing would be so hungry and wanting Abe to finish asap!! :P

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Creepy little podium/stage/red carpet thing going on there...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

One does not 'just' simply invite "envoys from more than 40 Islamic nations" to simply 'break fast' especially when that host nation is clearly not a Muslim country.

Apparently they do (hint: scroll up to the top, and look at the picture)

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Muslims have Ramadan, Japan has CoolBiz.........

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I hope he did not serve BBQ pork!

0 ( +9 / -9 )

"There is pork hidden in everything."

I've even seen lard in foods labeled vegetarian.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Back on topic please.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Another Abe promotion picture. Groan...

0 ( +4 / -4 )

I hope Japan doesn't go down the dangerous road which Western Europe has taken.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Abe san, speaks VERY good English, did he go to nova or berlitz in Tokyo, a long time ago?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I agree with Smith. Zich, I think you might be wrong.

Halal has to be prepared in similar ways as Kosher. But their are some differences. Alcohol being the major.

http://www.isaiowa.org/content/Halal-Information/Halal-Education/Why-Kosher-is-not-Halal.aspx

I only know of one strictly kosher place in Tokyo run by the wife of the Chabab Rabbi Mende.

If you are not a Muslim, then you cannot know if they are 100% halal.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

HighLama

It's true. Diabetics in the UK have been literally cured (previously thought an impossibility) by sticking to an 800-calorie per day diet for two months.

Lab rats on a near-starvation diet (though with all vitamins and nutrients included) live significantly longer than those fed normally.

Sorry, no links offhand (it's dishwashing time) but google it....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This is a slippery slope.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Routine periodic fasting is good for your health, and your heart. Fasting can lower one's risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes and can also cause significant changes in your blood cholesterol levels.

Depends what you do when you break your fast. There's been a trend of weight gain during Ramadan in the richer Muslim countries.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

zichi: "Not true here in Kobe City where there are Halala restaurants and shops around the mosque area."

Kobe is a major city, and one traditionally engaging in large level trade, or at least more of a multi-cultural port city because of such trade in the past, as you know. And I DID mean to add that it's a lot better than before, and continuing to get better as Japan tries to cater to more foreigners and in particular those from oil-rich ME nations. My point is that some restaurants that serve Halal foods may not be LIMITED to Halal foods, and the staff may not be entirely sure that they can't mix food prep, etc. I'm sure that there are places happy to slap a Halal label on their doors just to bring in more customers without adhering strictly to the rituals required.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I think its common sense it would be a MAJOR chore try to eat Halal in Japan day in day out, the time one would need to prepare or travel to a restaurant to do this would seem to be extreme unless one worked in or worked nearby a major mosque in Japan

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I thought Muslims were not allowed to shave during Ramadan? It started on June 17th. I'm pretty sure we would be getting some facial hair by now.

Wow. This level of ignorance explains a lot of the other comments regarding Islam on Japan Today...

-2 ( +7 / -10 )

Why? I'm very curious to hear your reasoning on how being hospitable to representatives of other countries is a dangerous road.

"Give an inch and they'll take a mile"....

Moderator: Please refrain from posting garbage like this.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

What was the point of this get together in terms of 'agenda'? One does not 'just' simply invite "envoys from more than 40 Islamic nations" to simply 'break fast' especially when that host nation is clearly not a Muslim country.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

I thought Muslims were not allowed to shave during Ramadan? It started on June 17th. I'm pretty sure we would be getting some facial hair by now.

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

Not Ramadan lunch?

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

What was the point of this get together in terms of 'agenda'? One does not 'just' simply invite "envoys from more than 40 Islamic nations" to simply 'break fast' especially when that host nation is clearly not a Muslim country.

Thomas Jefferson hosted Iftar at the White House in 1805, so there's plenty of precedent.

Simple diplomacy might not be on everyone's agenda, but in this case - at least - it's on Abe's.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

It is next to impossible to eat Hala or Kosher in this country in restaurants. There is pork hidden in everything.

I hope they weren't served soup.

-5 ( +5 / -10 )

Yelnats: Very true. In fact, a number of restaurants that claim to serve 'Halal food' are misleading, as a Muslim friend of mine found out, fortunately before she ate. They do serve Halal food, but they also use the same cooking implements, not necessarily washing carefully first, as everything else. And many of the soup bases etc. have 'pork extract', or else the staff could not tell us in detail what was in certain dishes. She ended up just drinking water, just in case, and in the end could only stay for part of a year because it was too tough (with her schedule it was hard to check everything and cook for herself all the time).

I tried doing the fasting for Ramadan to support said friend and other Muslims, and also to test myself, but I cheated a little (drank water during the day because it was too darned hot and I didn't want heat stroke), and in the end I only made it two weeks because I could not drag myself out of bed at 3:30 a.m. or so before sunrise to make sure I ate something. So, my hats off to those that can go through with it, and hopefully these people had a nice reception.

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

A dangerous road to start down. Be careful Japan.

Moderator: There is nothing dangerous about hosting a dinner. Do not post this again.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Smith-san: Jews are allowed to have water, and even food if their health requires it during fasting days. Life come first in Judaism before rituals.

Not sure about Muslims though.

The men above in the picture more than likely might enjoy some spirits. All the Muslim men in Japan I know do like their beer.

Nice gesture to keep the peace by Abe. Sometimes he gets things right.

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

Midle Eastern dinner. Chefs cook .

Butas are not too ogten aten in Japan anyway.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

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