Have a blast during Ramadan!

Lo! Ramadan is upon us and the Religion of Peaceful Explosions is gearing up for a festive holiday season. In that spirit I'd like to share some readings expressing the joys and best wishes of the season.

Incoming!

Ramadan 101 courtesy of Beliefnet.

Al Qaeda in Iraq kicks off their holiday celebration by calling for more attacks and for a boycott of the October 15 Constitution vote.

"While we are in this Ramadan, we say O Islam, muster your strength, and we incite the believers to fight the worshippers of the cross who have violated the (religious) limits and honors, demolished mosques and houses, burnt copies of the Quran and sowed corruption in the land,"

Hey, they forgot the part about the panties on their head! What about that?

Speaking of Abu Ghraib. 1,000 Abu Ghraib prisoners to be released for Ramadan

"The Iraqi government and (multi-national forces) decided to release the detainees to allow them to be with families and loved ones to celebrate the holy month and to help in the process of building a new Iraq," the statement said. "These detainees were selected for release following a careful and thorough review of their files by a special Iraqi-led review board which determined they had not committed serious crimes," it added. It is a tradition among Islamic countries to release prisoners ahead of Ramadan."

It has also become a happy tradition of Ramadan for worshippers to blow themselves to smithereens. Ramadan begins throughout the Muslim world

Militants have not issued specific Ramadan-related threats. But the spike in violence in recent years - especially suicide attacks in Iraq the last two years during Ramadan - has been noticeable. One possible reason is the belief by some Islamic extremists that those who die in combat for a holy cause during Ramadan are especially blessed.

But here in the US confusion reigns about the actual start of Ramadan. Majority of US Muslims to celebrate Ramadan today?

Man all this talk of fasting makes me hungry. I think I just might go have a pork chop or something.