Ramadan illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. However, many Muslims with medical conditions insist on fasting to satisfy their spiritual needs, although it is not recommended by the hadith. Professionals should closely monitor such individuals who decide to persist with fasting. Those who were unable to fast still must make up the days missed later. Each day, before dawn, Muslims observe a pre-fast meal called the suhur. After stopping a short time before dawn, Muslims begin the first prayer of the day, Fajr. At sunset, families hasten for the fast-breaking meal known as iftar. Dates are usually the first food to break the
Said Ramadan the battle against communism; by the end of the 1950s, "the CIA was overtly backing Ramadan. While it's too simple to call him a US agent, in the 1950s and 1960s the United States supported him as he took over a mosque in Munich, kicking out local Muslims to build what would become one of the Brotherhood's most important centers – a refuge for the beleaguered group during its decades in the wilderness. In the end, the US didn't reap much for its efforts, as Ramadan was more interested in spreading his Islamist agenda than fighting communism." Said Ramadan was