Just goes to show too much religion anywhere is a bad thing.

The psychological and physical health effects angle of fasting is particularly interesting.

Things are so less noisy in secular Australia although doubters see 'secular' as derived from Judeo-Christian beliefs.

Clearly Indonesia is freer and more tolerant than in Sukarno-Suharto days.

Pete

What's that old saying, "When in Rome." It's their country. You have to obey their Laws. If they are Sharia Laws then you have to abide by them. We expect the same when they come here. Don't we?

I can't help thinking this article is a little mean-spirited. Islamic or not, what Mr Graham is experiencing is a tradition, a ritual, an annual 'shaking-up' of society. He chooses to highlight the negatives of Ramadan, and when one makes such a choice one seldom sees beyond those negatives.

Ramadan is a disruption to a routine. Some people like disruption, others don't. Personally, I relish those few times of year when traffic flows in the opposite direction, when shops open later (or earlier) and close earlier (or later). Those times when strange sights and sounds are waiting to be discovered around every bend.

I can understand that some people don't share my passion. However, moving to Indonesia and complaining about Ramadan is akin to moving to Venice and complaining about the Carnevale. Both places proclaim freedom of religion, and in both cases the majority usually overrides the minority. Religious or otherwise, social practices are social practices. We can embrace them, we can rail against them or we can move away. Or, even better, we can do our homework before we move to a society that embraces practices we don't like.

Ramadan is virtually no different to Australian Television. A lot of nonsensical noise forced onto everyone.