As Ramadan approaches, the media is once again filled with articles and segments about the Muslim month of fasting. The national radio is doing its part to normalize Islam’s presence in Swedish society with a segment about an integration coordinator who is considering fasting.
Ramadan means 30 days of fasting for Muslims and has until recently been an almost unknown phenomenon in Sweden, but with the influx of Muslim migrants encouraged by naïve politicians, it has become something that the Swedish people are now exposed to both in the media and in stores.
Lotta Jonsson is an integration coordinator in Bollebygd municipality and is considering fasting during Ramadan. P4 Sjuhärad found this so interesting that they made an entire segment about her thoughts.
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“I would be curious to see if I could manage it and how I would experience it,” she says.
A reporter, speaking halting Swedish, says that Jonsson has, for several years in her job, met people who fast during Ramadan.
An empathetic side
Trying out fasting is said to be not just a personal challenge in her case, but also about the “more empathetic side” of the holiday.
“That you think about those who can’t eat their fill, that not everyone gets enough to eat, whether it’s in Sweden or somewhere else, and I think it’s human to be allowed to feel that way, too. That’s what I think is beautiful about Ramadan.”