Chapter Fifteen
That year the holy month of Ramadan came when the war was at its height. In the mountain regions of Afghanistan darkness comes early, and so it was not really difficult to observe the external aspect of the fast and not eat during the hours of daylight. And even with the prayers, including the evening tarawih – when the thirty parts of the Divine Word of the Koran are read, evening after evening – all went well, he was always in a group where at least one man knew the Koran off by heart, whether they were in a village mosque, in a cave or in the roadside house of a good-hearted fellow believer.
But that year Yosir found it harder than at any time before in his life to part with Ramadan and this closeness to God. He had never felt such regret at this parting, such sorrow a
