Sir Sadiq Khan has warned he will be “a grumpy so and so” over the coming month as he fasts for Ramadan.
The London mayor confessed to the BBC’s ‘Not Even Water: Ramadan Unearthed’ podcast that as a “caffeine addict”, he particularly struggles to deprive himself of coffee during the holy month.
At Ramadan, Muslims fast between dawn and sunset each day. The fasting covers all food and drink - including water. Ramadan began this year on February 28 and will end on March 30.
Sir Sadiq said: “I’m a grumpy so and so, I really am… I don’t miss the water and the food - it’s the caffeine.”
He later added: “This year I’ve done something which I’ve not done in the past, which is to get ready for Ramadan by detoxing, so I’ve already reduced my caffeine intake - because let me be frank, I’m a caffeine addict.
“Normally in Ramadan, I won’t have a drop of caffeine - because it keeps me awake - and so I’m miserable for the first week. And on Eid [the festival marking the end of Ramadan], when I have my first mug of coffee, I’m flying, I’m literally flying - I’m hyperactive.
“I’m clearly addicted, so what I did this year - because of the proximity of Ramadan to New Year’s resolutions - one of my New Year’s resolutions was to reduce my caffeine intake.”
The mayor said he views Ramadan as an opportunity for self-improvement.
“The idea is, you restrain from doing stuff between dawn and dusk - not just eating and drinking, but having a relationship with your wife, not swearing, not doing bad things,” he said.
“The way I think about Ramadan is, it’s pre-season training - if you’re into football. It’s that time before the football season begins where you get fit, and how successful you are as a football team is often affected by your pre-season training. And how effective you are during the other 11 months is how good you were during Ramadan. It’s like a rebooting.”
Sir Sadiq also acknowledged it becomes far more difficult to avoid becoming angry when hungry, saying: “It’s really important to remind ourselves that when you’re hungry, you can sometimes be hotheaded.
“One of the injunctions that there is upon us is: don’t get involved in fights, either verbal or physical. If you think you’re going into DEFCON 4, just pause, and say ‘Listen, I’m fasting’.”
On Wednesday last week, the mayor switched on the Ramadan Lights at Piccadilly Circus. It is the third year of the annual display, which features 30,000 LED bulbs in the shape of Islamic geometric patterns and symbols hanging over the West End street.
