Two-a-day practices are grueling enough. Starting on Wednesday, Vikings backup safety Husain Abdullah will have to get through without eating or drinking during the daytime because of Ramadan.
“I’ve been doing it since I was 7,” Abdullah told Chip Scoggins in an intriguing piece for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “To a Muslim, Ramadan is what we wait for every year. The holy month of Ramadan, we love it.”
While Abdullah loves it, the Vikings believe it sapped the special teamer’s energy last year for a month. So with the help of the team’s nutritionist, the organization came up with a better plan to help their player.
Abdullah will start each day at 5AM with a prayer and breakfast. He’ll eat a huge dinner after dusk, and then wake up every morning at 2AM to down a protein shake that will help keep him going all day.
“Last year he was kind of shouldering it all by himself,” Childress said.
Inspired by Hakeem Olajuwon, who fasted during the NBA season, perhaps Abdullah and his brother Hamza of the Cardinals will inspire another generation of Muslim Americans.