PODCAST EPISODE 2

The podcast is discussing Ramadan and fasting. The guest explains that during Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and it is a month to show their faith to God. Fasting has health benefits, such as getting rid of unuseful cells in the body. The guest also mentions that fasting helps them understand how the poor feel. The host, who is Christian, shares that Christianity no longer practices fasting and explains the differences between the Old Testament and New Testament. They discuss different types of Christianity and mention that Catholicism is prominent in countries like Italy and Poland. They also mention that there are many Muslims in Maryland, where the host is from. Okay. Welcome to the second episode of our podcast, the Oreo podcast. Yes, indeed. Oh, sorry, the reverse Oreo podcast. Indeed. We're missing our third co-host. He's still sick. He's currently sick. But we have our first guest on the second episode. Lawan, you want to introduce yourself, bro? Yes, sir. You guys got Lawan over here, man. Yeah, Lawan. Yes, sir. How's it been? How has it been going through Ramadan? It's been good, bro. It's kind of hard, but, you know, we're chilling over here, bro. I know it's hard, but we have to do it. Let's go to the basics and stuff. You want to just explain what Ramadan is to people who don't know? Basically, Ramadan is a month that we show our faith to God by fasting. I mean by fasting, not drinking or eating from the sunrise till the sunset. And, yeah, basically just about that, bro. And it's just very healthy for your body, you know? Yeah, you were talking about the health benefits. Do you want to just touch upon that real quick? Yeah, so basically in that month, all the cells that are unuseful for your body, they will be dead in that month. And, yeah, bro, just by not drinking or eating. So, yeah, that's why it's like the healthy stuff about that month. Yeah, I had no idea about that because, like, obviously, like, not eating. Like, people kind of just tell you, like, dude, you got to eat, you know? It's good for you. But I didn't know there was any, like, benefits to, like, not eating throughout the day and stuff and, like, certain times of year. So when you told me that, I was like, dude, that's, like, super interesting and stuff. And, bro, you learn a lot of things, bro. In that month, you learn a lot of things. Well, discipline, right? Huh? You learn a lot of discipline. Yeah. And, like, also, like, if you don't eat, you can't feel how the poor people feel as well, you know? Like, for example, I remember last year in the first day of Ramadan, bro, it was, like, a skolafindir going on and, like, everybody had, like, food and everything in front of us. And, like, I was feeling, like, the same feeling as the other, like, the poor people feel, you know? Yeah, bro. And, yeah, bro. Okay. Sorry for your listeners if it's getting noisy. Cal is moving next to me so we can be more, like, questionative. But that intervened me by now. What did you do last night, man? But, yeah, man, to be honest, the whole fasting stuff, like, my family is pretty religious. I'm not myself, but my family is Baptist, like, Christian. Not Catholic, but Baptist. And, you know, it says a lot, it talks a lot about, you know, fasting and our religion. More so in the Bible, though, like, we don't really have any, like, holidays or anything where we focus on fasting or anything like that. Like, we talk about, like, the, I think, I might be wrong, but, like, Jesus spent some time in the desert without eating, without water and stuff like that and was, like, tempted by the devil. And so, like, you know, from what I know about that, I can really, like, understand what you mean about the whole, like, understanding, like, a different perspective, you know, by not eating and, like, seeing, like, a different part of the world. Because I can, like, from that story, I kind of learned that, like, temptation is, like, a very dangerous thing. And it's, like, so easy to be susceptible to it. And it takes a lot of, like, integrity to keep that up. So, I'm really impressed with you guys when you, like, in school and, like, we're all eating and stuff and, you know, I try to hide it as much as I can, obviously, because, like, I just feel rude. But, you know, I just find it really impressive that you guys can do that, just go throughout the day without eating or drinking. Yeah, but it's just up to you, basically, you know what I mean? I have been fasting since I was, like, 7 years old, so I'm used to it right now. The first year when I came to Iceland, bro, I had to fast 22 hours. Because, like, it was in the summer and, you know, in the summer here in Iceland, the sun, like, barely goes down. Oh, yeah, yeah. It was, like, very, very hard for us. But then, like, you get used to it. But in the winter, bro, it's, like, so chilling, bro. You start, like, fasting at 8 o'clock in the morning, you come, just don't eat lunch, you come home, start eating again at 4 o'clock. Does Ramadan, does it have a specific date where you start? So, basically, Ramadan every year comes 13 days back. So, basically, like, last year was, like, we started 13 days, 13 days, like, after us, like, we started this year, so. Okay, yeah. And in 2030 or 34, I think, Ramadan, the Eid of Ramadan and Christmas will be in the same day, so. It's going to be rough, because that's when people are eating the most. Yeah, but it's going to be fun, it's going to be fun. I remember you said at work, because if anyone didn't know, me and Lawan worked together. But I remember you told me at work that at some point you'll have, like, two Ramadans in, like, one year. Yeah, it's 2030, because it's going to be basically in December and also January, like, those two months. Yeah, and that's what we're going to have to Ramadan. So, what's, like, the importance of, like, the 13 days thing? Like, why is there, like, 13 days difference between them? So, I am actually not sure about that one, why it comes, like, 30 days, like, every year back. But, yeah, I just, like, I know that. Okay, I get you. But I don't know why, I don't know, like, the explanation for it. Yeah, I'm not going to dog on you, bro. There's a lot of stuff in, like, my religion when I was, like, practicing it that, like, I didn't really know. It was just kind of stuff that, like, people tell you to do and you just, like, you're like, this is how it is, you know? So, I get you, I completely get you. How is the fasting in Christianity? Do you know anything about it? To be honest, I don't think we practice it anymore. Because basically, like, our religion is kind of split up between the Old Testament religion and the New Testament religion. I guess that's kind of poor wording, but basically, the Old Testament version is kind of like, like, there was a lot more rules and there was a lot of other things that you had to do. While the New Testament has, like, that's around where Jesus died. So, when Jesus died, he, like, took away people's sins. And because of that, it added new rules to the religion. For example, like, in the Old Testament, now, don't catch me off guard, because I'm not, like, very good at this, because I haven't done, like, very much religious, like, practicing and stuff in a very long time. But, like, the Ten Commandments, right? They're not really, like, they're not really genuine, like, rules that you have to follow anymore. They're kind of more used as an example, because they show you that, like, people are imperfect. Because, like, if you look at the Ten Commandments, I trust you read the first three and you're like, I've already done one of these. You know what I mean? So, it's more of an example in our religion of, like, to show, like, humanity's imperfection that, like, Ten Simple Rules and, like, you know, it just shows that, like, people aren't perfect and we need God and that kind of stuff. So, like, a lot of things are different from our Old Testament. And a lot of the fasting was in the Old Testament. And also, like, sacrifices and stuff like that, like, sacrificing animals. And we don't do that anymore because of, like, what happened with Jesus and stuff like that. So, the fasting stuff is, yeah, we don't really practice it anymore. I don't know about, like, Catholicism or any other bracket of, like, Christianity, but I just know in Baptists we don't do that. How many types of Christianity are there? I can probably just search it up now. I know Orthodox. Baptist. Catholic. Okay, so it says here that there's six main groups. There's Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Restorationism. And, like, these are six main groups, but there's obviously, like, brackets from them as well. But I think Baptist goes under Orthodox, but I'm not sure. I could be completely wrong. But, yeah, I know, like, well, obviously, like, Roman Catholicism is still practiced today. You know, like, the Pope, and especially in countries like Italy and Poland. But, like, I'm not sure how prominent the other ones are in the rest of the world. To be honest, in America, like, from what do you know, like, do they kind of turn more to, like, Baptist Christianity or what? Well, honestly, it's a mix. I think the most I've seen, or, like, I think I've known the most people that are, like, Catholics. That's very big in the Hispanic community as well. Oh, yeah. Like, they're, like, I'm, like, from my memory, I remember a lot of them being Catholics. But, yeah, Christianity is very, like, big over there. Especially when you go down to the South. Yeah. It's more prominent down there, you know. You can, some smaller towns in the South might have, like, a church every other block, you know. I'm, like, trying to remember some states that are, have a large percentage, but I can't really remember. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No worries. But there's also a lot of, like, from where I grew up, there's a lot of Muslims, you know. And you lived in Maryland, right? Yeah, Maryland. Yeah. Right next to D.C. So, there's a lot of Muslims, you know. I feel like I see more Muslims than actually... Christians. Yeah, Christians, and, yeah, you know. Nice, nice. I wasn't really exposed to, like, other religions until I came here, really, like, you know. In England, like, they weren't, I wouldn't say they're not open to talk about it, but it's just, like, it didn't really become, it wasn't really, like, a subject to talk about, you know what I mean? Like, people kind of kept to their own in England. Like, for example, like, I knew people who were Muslim, but I didn't know anything. Like, they just did their stuff, and that's it. Like, I didn't know about Ramadan, I didn't know about, like, their, like, practices or anything like that. Like, I would just, like, know the basics of, like, if I saw a girl with a, yeah, a hijab, I would be like, okay, well, you know, that's because of a religion. But, like, I wouldn't know the reasons why and stuff like that. And then I came here, and, like, people are pretty open here, like, talking about that stuff. So, like, I mean, obviously, most of it I've learned from you and your brother and Yusuf. But, like, yeah, no, I didn't know anything about it. And even, like, Catholicism and, what's it, they knock on your door? Mormons? Oh, Mormons, yeah. Like, for example, my mom also hasn't really had, like, a lot of interaction with, like, other religions, except for Islam, actually, because I was talking a lot about this earlier. Like, my mom's grandpa, or my great-grandpa, he was Malawian, which, and he was Muslim. And my mom, like, just recently started talking to some people from the Mormon church in Iceland. And, dude, I didn't even know there was a Mormon church. I was, like, I had no idea. Yeah. And, like, they have, like, a pretty, I wouldn't say big church, but, like, they have a big community. I don't know what building they use, but I know they have a pretty big community, and I was pretty surprised to hear that. Because, honestly, I've never, like, interacted with a Mormon in my life. I mean, Mormons are very nice people. I've met, like, I've met a couple Mormons, you know, when they came to my, like, they also came to my doorstep once, here, actually, in Iceland, and, you know, asked me to convert. Or, not really asked me to, just, like, you know, like, just showed me, like, you know, kind of reasons why they are Mormons and stuff. Bro, a very weird thing happened when we first came to Iceland. So, basically, like, when we were back in our country, like, the only religion, like, we were seeing was basically Islam. And, like, of course, we learned something about other religions as well, but, like, mainly it's Islam. So, we come here, like, with the Mormons, you said. Yeah. They came to our door, and as soon as I, like, they tried to convert us, like, you know, to Christianity. Like, as soon as I said, you are, like, Muslims, the guy just dipped out of nowhere. I was like, what the hell is going on? Like, I just said, we are Muslims, bro. He's like, yeah, no, I'm not, I'm not messing with that. To be honest, from, like, what I've seen with you guys, and just, like, in general, in Islam, like, dude, I'd say converting anyone from Islam would be, like, crazy difficult. Very hard, but sometimes it's also, like, some people, like, I know a lot of people here in Iceland that convert to Christianity only for, like, the residency or the anything else, you know, just to live here. But, there is also, like, a lot of others that are, like, so strict to the religion, and basically, you know. You know, there's, like, in every region, there's some people that are, like, not strict to their religion, and they do other things that, you know, is prohibited in their religion. Yeah, like, I'm not, like, a religious person. I wouldn't say I'm atheist, because, like, you know, I don't want to get too deep, but I, like, I believe there's something, but I can't really put my finger on it. And, I don't really want to, you know, what's the word, like, commit myself to a religion. Yeah. But, I, you know, I really respect the, like, Islamic beliefs and, like, your guys' cultures and stuff like that, because it's, like, from what I hear from you guys, it's just, like, it's just, like, what's the word, it's just, like. Dedication. Yeah, the dedication and, like, the love for it is, like, admirable, bro. Like, how many times, dude, I've heard, like, people, like, will go to, where is it, the. Mosque. No, no, no, no, the big mosque in, that you're supposed to go at least once in your life? Mecca. Mecca, yeah. Dude, the amount of times I've seen people, like, go there and really just, like, people that aren't emotional at all will go to Mecca, bro, and just, like, crumble and just, like, you know, like, pour their hearts out, bro. And, I just find that so admirable, like, that's, like, real love to your religion, you know what I mean? And every person I've met who is Islamic, I mean, I'm not saying, like, obviously, there's, you know, bad apples everywhere, but from what I've seen, like, they've all been very respectable people, you know, like, even if they disagree with you, like, they're as, you know, respectable as they can be, but they're also very, like, prideful, so, like, obviously, if you disrespect them, you know, you're probably going to get a comment to you, but, like, you know, like, it's just, they're just very, very respectable people. And, like, you know, that's why I enjoy being around you guys a lot, because it's, like, I just know you guys are authentic, like, you guys are, like, completely authentic, like, I know nothing is, like, a facade or anything, because you guys are just completely authentic in what you believe, and you're, like, completely, you know, like, proud of your religion and stuff like that, and I, like, I really admire that. Yeah, it should be like that, like, for example, if you ask any Muslim people, like, around the world, everybody's, like, proud of Islam, and, like, that's the good thing about Islam, like, if you're a Muslim, you should be proud of your religion and everything, and don't let nobody disrespect it in any way, so, that's, like, but there's, of course, bad apples everywhere. Yeah, of course, yeah. Yeah, I mean, all religions, you know, they, like, they should be respected. I mean, it's not fair to, well, really, like... Step on them. Yeah, step on someone else's religion, because, you know, you believe in something else, you know. It's all just, like, we all live in the same world. I remember when, like, when I was in 9th grade, my, like, my brother, Zaman, he was in 10th grade, and there was a guy, like, he was non-religious, and he was always, like, telling us, like, you guys are missing out of eating pork, you guys are missing out of drinking, having fun, and all those kind of stuff. Yeah. But, like, we weren't saying anything, we're just, you know, it's a disrespect for people when they say those kind of stuff to you, but last year, he just converted to Islam, the same guy, so... No way, that's crazy, yeah. And, like, now he's, like, always telling us, like, I'm very sorry for the things that I said, and those kind of stuff, but, like, of course. I think, I think that's what makes it so special, is that, like, also the effort that you put into your religion, it, like, it always, like, what's the word, like, it always bears something, you know what I mean, like, it's not, it's not for naught, you know what I mean, like, like, you're doing it, and you just feel, like, good about yourself, and, like, dude, I mean, like, you don't wanna, you don't have to eat, like, you don't eat pork, like, bro, that's such, like, a minimal thing for, like, society. It's such a wonderful life, you know, like, I've seen people who have, like, just been going through it, you know, like, really rough times, and just go, like, as long as I have Allah with me, I'm good, and I'm like, dude, that's insane, bro, because I would crumble in those kind of situations, and these people are just, like, trusting in their God, like, completely, and that's, dude, that's just so impressive. And there's also a lot of people, like, especially in Europe, they, like, they're, like, stereotyping Islam in a different way, like, as soon as you say, I'm a Muslim, they think of bombing, this, this, why, like, it's not, it's not only Muslim people that they do that. Yeah, of course. Like, basically, like, in Arab, there's a lot of Christianity Arabs also, so, Christian Arabs as well. I think it's just, like, it's because people are, what's the word, like, very biased, like, the difference between if you go to somebody and say, like, I'm Christian, they'll be pretty, like, they'll be more relaxed, but if you say, like, I'm Muslim, they tense up, but I think that's more of, like, because, like, you're not going to be talking about, like, if you're a Christian-based country, you're probably not going to be talking about things that bad Christian people are doing. Yeah. It's the same with Christianity, like, with, like, the Romans, like, they're, like, forcibly converting people, whether they like it or not, like, be a Christian or die, like, dude, nothing in the Bible says go around killing people and telling them to convert, you know? Yeah. Like, that's just what people, you know, took it as, so, I don't really, like, when people tell me what their religion is, I'm more curious and, like, you know, conscious, like, what's the word, like, nervous, I'm like, wow, like, I've never met anyone who's, you know, been part of that religion, like, what's it about, and stuff like that, like, I'm more interested than I am nervous, because it's just, it's really just the people, man. Yeah, and for me, like, their religion is, like, a very personal thing, which is, like, up to the other person, like, you should never disrespect those kind of stuff, like, for example, religion, and there's a lot of other things that you should never disrespect, like, for example, if someone comes to me, and he's allergic to something, of course, I'm not going to disrespect him for that, or, like, if some vegan man or woman, they pull up to me, or, like, anything, of course, I'm not going to disrespect them for that. Of course, I'm not going to disrespect them in any other way, because I know it's going to come back to me another time. Somebody's going to disrespect my religion the same way as I disrespect other people. Treat other people how you want to be treated. If you bully someone, or, like, put them down, I feel like you're going to feel that in some way. I feel like the universe is funny like that, and whether it's, like, some, like, you know, God, or anything like that, it's just, that's just how I think it is as well, and, like, I think that I, like, live my life knowing that, like, making another person's day easier is exactly what I wish someone would do to me. So, why not, you know? Yeah. But, uh, Keller wants to talk about Easter break, you know. So, what's your plans, bro? So, basically, you know, it's Ramadan going on and Easter break, so, basically, I have also a lot of work to do, and, like, there's a lot of homeworks and, like, essays and a lot of things that I need to write. So, I'm just going to focus on those and maybe hang around with my friends a little bit, so. You're not planning on going anywhere? Maybe even in the, in Iceland? I'm not sure. I don't think so. I don't think I will go this break, so. Yeah. What about you, Brandon? Um, I'm probably just going to chill, man. I kind of need a break, uh, just, like, from, like, school stuff. Um, we don't really have a lot of homework over, like, more, like, all-encompassing things, like, you know, the extended essay, but that's literally due next year and stuff like that. I mean, obviously, I'm going to work on it, but, like, it's kind of, like, you know, it's not things that I need to, like, panic about. So, I'm probably just going to take it to just, like, finally get a break because we've just been, like, non-stop school for a little while and, like, I feel like I'm losing it, bro. Yeah, I feel like everyone is. Yeah. So, I'm not going anywhere. Originally, we were supposed to go to Poland to get our, me and my brother's passports redone. What happened? There's something wrong with the car and my parents don't know what it is, so they need to figure that out first and they don't want to be, like, they don't want to be able to spread out finances properly. You guys already bought the tickets and everything. No, no, no, we're just planning it. We didn't buy, no, no, we're taking a plane, but we didn't buy it yet. It was more, like, looking at everyone's schedule, seeing who was good to go when because we're taking my sister as well and she doesn't live with us and, obviously, she's got work. Yeah. So, we're kind of just, like, we're just planning it out and then something happened with the car and we don't really know what it is. So, we're kind of just, like, figuring out that at first and then we can talk about going to Poland, but, you know, I'm not doing this Easter break. What about you, Keller? Me? Well, I'm going to be going back to Maryland, to D.C. to see my dad, see my mom. When my mom moves out, she's moving closer to her job. And, yeah, I mean, you know, going to see friends, old friends from high school. But, yeah, you know, I'm most excited to see my parents, you know. Yeah, I'm just really excited, you know, I'm going to be, I'm going to go to the beach. All right. You know, that's, I don't mean to flex on anybody, I don't mean to be, yeah. You're leaving us with a moody weather, you're going to go to the sunny beach, bro. Yeah, I mean, you know, I can send pictures as well. Oh, man, I don't feel like crying this Easter. Yeah, but I mean, I mean, y'all have plans for the summer, right? Or what? Of course, man. Of course. We'll see. Yeah, it's pretty ambiguous right now. Yeah, of course. Yeah, so basically in the summer, like, I'm just planning to work. And then in August, maybe, we are like, our family, we are planning to visit our country for like a month. Kurdistan. Yeah, Kurdistan. We haven't seen, I haven't seen, like, my grandma, like, my uncle, my aunt, everybody for like five years or so. So it's going to be very interesting, yeah. It's going to be very interesting. Dude, it's wild, though. Because, like, I went to South Africa this Christmas or last Christmas. And, bro, I haven't seen them since 2018. It's been like two, three, like five years. Five years. Dude, it was weird, man. Like, obviously, we've kind of, like, built up those relationships, you know, before. Because I left when I was three. But for, like, you know, like, we kind of, obviously, we didn't have that personal relationship. Like, there was obviously phone calls and, like, FaceTimes and stuff like that. But we kind of built something, like, me and my family, we built something when I came in 2018. And when I went, like, it was also there, you know. Like, I felt like I didn't really, like, leave for that long, you know. I came back and everyone was just chilling. Like, it's a family, you know. Like, family doesn't switch up, which is nice. Like, I just went back and I didn't feel like anything changed. Like, I was just like, this is my uncle, these are my cousins, this is my grandma. Like, they were all the same people, bro. Like, it's nice. It's nice. Like, right now, I'm feeling like there's a lot of changes and everything. But as soon as I get there, I know it's basically the same thing, the same feeling for us. Yeah, exactly. I know exactly what you mean, bro. You get there and then you go back to your daily routine, you know. Ramadan, explain your thoughts, explain how you're feeling, you know. And just sharing knowledge with us. Yeah, bring some insight on it, bro. Insight, everything, yeah. I feel like not a lot of people know about it. I feel like even when you said, like, yo, it's Ramadan. Like, a lot of people were like, what? What are you talking about? So, you know, it's good to talk about it. And I'm glad you brought it on our podcast, man. And we hope to have you back sometime. And then after Easter and hopefully with our third co-host. Yeah, and our co-host will be back. He has been absent. Put them sniffles away. Yeah. Yo, thank you guys very much for having me. Yeah, no problem. Nah, bro, thanks for being here, man. It was very nice. Thanks for the 30 minutes of content, bro. You're our cash cow. And we're going to beat you until we get all your money out. Okay? Alright, guys, that was the Reverse Oreo Podcast. Thank you. And we'll see you next time. Thank you. Bye. Bye.