TODAY, Muslims all over the world are in their third or fourth day of fasting. In the Philippines, the pious (or those who pretend being so) among the estimated 7 million Muslim Filipinos will abstain from -- among other things -- food, water and sex from dawn till dusk for the whole 29 or 30 days of the Islamic month of Ramadan.

What has been perplexing me since I took my faith seriously a couple of decades ago is the tendency of many of my compatriots to increase their gross food intake during the month and request for more privileges from their schools or offices.

Even those who have very modest budgets prior to the fasting month try to look for other sources of income in order to augment their Ramadan funds.

Families that were previously content with rice and a viand or two for every meal suddenly develop an inordinate craving for cake, ice cream and other "special" food. Thus, one comes across allegedly indigent religious persons begging for cash assistance "to prepare for fasting." It takes a lot of tact to refrain from asking them why it is more expensive to go hungry than eat your fill.

Some students and office workers are not less guilty. Some government employees once approached me for what I think was a religious equivalent of intellectual dishonesty. They were asking my help to draft a petition requesting shorter office hours throughout the fasting month. Do they want to pass on the burden of their religious duties to their office? Can they accept the prospect of their office in their stead going to heaven? By demanding privileges as an adjunct to performance of Islamic rituals, these Muslims are also sending the wrong signals that it is hard to be a Muslim.

The spirit of Ramadan ought to be one of sacrifice, of savoring the opportunity to suffer in fulfillment of God's will. It would therefore seem paradoxical to find Muslims asking for more, rather than being content with less during this blessed month. The reason why those who are better off in life are obliged by God to share their material blessings during this month is the expectation that going hungry for 30 days will somehow produce some surplus. Certainly, the poor are allowed to accept gifts from the rich, if only to give the latter an opportunity to develop their spirit of charity and altruism. But all in all, the month-long fasting is meant to annihilate all vestiges of selfishness and greed.

Greed and discontent are the main sources of trouble everywhere. They are the main roots of conflict. Capitalists wanting more profit overshoot their limit in exploiting their workers. Politicians desiring more power and pelf deprive their constituents of basic government services.

Revolutionaries longing for more territory and clout dominate the people whose interests they claim to defend and destabilize states they consider villains. Discontented laborers foment industrial unrest, deprived citizens espouse political dissent, dominated peoples resist. All these amount to violence.

Conflicting interests and desires can begin to be mitigated if some of the people commit themselves to a life of contentment. Violence will begin to end when all succeed in eliminating greed from their system. This is what Ramadan seeks to accomplish.

A blessed Ramadan to all pious servants of Allah!

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