Middle East

The Middle Eastern culture has many different nationalities within their population including Arabians, Iranians, Iraqis, Pakistanians, Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, and many more. The most common religion found in the Middle East is Muslim. However not every Middle Easterner is Muslim, there are also other religions just as in any country such as Christian and Jewish. There are more than seven million Muslims living in America and over 1.5 billion worldwide. Many Middle Eastern Muslims who are conservative with their religion do not eat pork or drink alcohol. Some eat only Halal meat, which is meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic tradition. Muslims pray five times a day facing Mecca, and also observe a holiday called Ramadan.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. The Month of Ramadan is also when it is believed the Holy Quran “was sent down from heaven, a guidance unto men, declaration of direction, and a means of Salvation." It is during this month that Muslims fast. It is called the Fast of Ramadan and lasts the entire month. Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives. It is a time of worship and reflection. During the fast of Ramadan, strict restraints are placed on the daily lives of Muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Diet for Muslim patients can be an issue during Ramadan. Patients tend to resist taking medications during the daytime of Ramadan because they think it is a form of eating. During Ramadan Muslim patients will not eat even in a hospital setting, which makes it difficult to monitor progress. Also, Muslim patients are concerned with how some medications are derived because some medications are made from a pig’s aorta. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting. At the end of the day, the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the iftar. In the evening following the iftar, it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast is resumed the next morning.

During Ramadan, it is common for Muslims to go to the Masjid and spend several hours praying and studying the Quran. In addition to the five daily prayers, during Ramadan Muslims recite a special prayer called the Taraweeh prayer also known as the Night Prayer. The length of this prayer is usually 2-3 times a...

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...ating in any religious rituals, women are expected to wash and purify themselves.

Death is also another major issue that the Muslim culture deals with. Muslims do not believe in ventilators or life support. The feel that this is also altering God’s will. The Muslim culture does not reveal the bad news about a condition to the whole family except for one family member. They believe that if you talk about it, that it will bring forth the worst for the condition. Muslim patients who are dying have their bed turned towards Mecca, the Holy Land.

After the patient passes, the body is washed three times by a Muslim of the same sex, and then is wrapped in white material and buried as soon as possible. All body orifices are closed and tightly packed with cotton to prevent bodily fluids from escaping. The grave must be cement or brick lined and face Mecca. Women do not attend funerals unless it is their husband who passes. Cremation and autopsies are not approved of because they believe that it is a lack of respect altering the body.

Refrences http://www.factmonster.com/spot/ramadan1.html http://www.diversityresources.com/rc_sample/me.html

http://mec.sas.upenn.edu/events/medpamph.html