Word: muntari
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Ramadan has not arrived at the ideal moment.' JOSE MOURINHO, manager of Italian soccer club Inter Milan, lamenting midfielder Sulley Muntari's "low energy levels" while he fasts in observance of the Muslim religious holiday...
Like more than a billion fellow Muslims around the world, Sulley Muntari began the monthlong fasting ritual of Ramadan on Aug. 22. Abstaining from food or drink during daylight hours is challenging enough for the average person, but for the Ghana-born Muntari, a professional soccer player with Italy's Serie A team Inter Milan, running more than six miles per game on an empty stomach might have proved to be too much. In his first match after the start of Ramadan, the midfielder was removed from the game after just half an hour of play...
...Milan coach Jose Mourinho cited Muntari's "lack of energy" on the pitch as the reason for his removal, suggesting that "Ramadan has not arrived at the ideal moment for a player to play a football match." Mourinho hinted that he may keep Muntari out matches for the rest of the month, angering Muslims and troubling Inter Milan fans...
...what is this ritual for which Muntari is jeopardizing his season? One of the five pillars of faith for Muslims, Ramadan is the the ninth month of the lunar calendar and the holiest period of the Islamic year. It's thought to be the month that the Koran was first revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad in the year A.D. 610. (Read "Soccer Star Benched for Fasting During Ramadan...
...called 'Id al-Fitr (the Feast of Fast-Breaking) where entire villages celebrate together. While Muslim leaders in Italy who criticized Mourinho's decision to pull his player argued that the "mental and psychological stability" achieved through the discipline of Ramadan outweighs the physical strain of the fast, for Muntari, 'Id probably can't come soon enough...