'Every time I listen to the call to prayer I feel at ease'

There were people eating everywhere, yet all he could hear was his stomach rumbling.

"Food everywhere but not a morsel to eat," thought Luis Abdul Rahman as he walked past his university cafeteria in the US.

Fasting in a non-Muslim country was not an easy task for Abdul Rahman.

"When I was 18, my day turned to night and my night turned to day. It is really hard to cope with Ramadan when people around you are filling their stomachs," Abdul Rahman, 21, said.

The only thing that kept Abdul Rahman, a Spanish national, going was his Muslim friends, the thought of God and the fact that he could understand what less fortunate people deal with.

"I never thought about when my next meal was coming, but to see food and not be able to eat it during Ramadan made me appreciate it a lot more," said Abdul Rahman.

One of Abdul Rahman's worst experiences was when he stayed up at night with his friends to have suhour, when he had a presentation at 8.30am.

"I got a call from my friend at 8.45am asking where I was as the class was waiting for me to present, when I realised the time, I rushed straight to class without even thinking about my appearance," he remembers. "I had to repeat the course because of this presentation."

Similar beliefs

After two years in the US, Abdul Rahman decided to move to a Muslim country as he felt he needed to be with people of similar beliefs.

"The simple things people go through such as iftar with friends and family, praying in a mosque and having suhour are, I think, things people take for granted as they experience it all the time," he said.

Now that Abdul Rahman lives in the UAE, it is easier for him to fast because he does not feel like he is the only one. He loves the fact that the UAE celebrates Ramadan properly and the people here acknowledge and respect the month.

"The atmosphere of Ramadan, when everyone breaks their fast at the same time, is great," said Abdul Rahman. "As a university student in Sharjah, instead of watching people eat during the day in Ramadan, I get to join them at iftar.

"Every time I listen to the call to prayer I feel at ease because it makes me feel thankful to be in a Muslim country and be around people similar to me."