And so it begins. Thirty days of not eating, drinking or having sex. Complete abstinence from the good things in life to prove other things matter more.

Luckily I'm not involved because I am not a Muslim.

But this Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad according to ISIS, is going to be particularly testing.

Held each year during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, in 2016 this has coincided with a Northern Hemisphere's summer equinox, in which the days are longest.

By fasting from dawn to dusk, Muslims at northerly latitudes won't eat for the best part of 20 hours out of 24 — before saying special prayers, feasting, sleeping and starting all over again the next day.

Ramadan, the Muslim event which begins today, in Britain raises all sorts of issues, writes Katie Hopkins. Pictured: Muslim men in east London prepare to eat Iftar, the evening meal to break fast during Ramadan

I appreciate some get a sick pass. If you are old or very young, a woman breast-feeding, bleeding or conceiving, you get let off. I'd do a Stephanie Davis and pretend to be preggers to sneak a cheeky kebab.

But for the majority, 20-hour days without food or water feel impossibly long. When I spoke to people about it as part of my radio phone-in at LBC, people raised all sorts of issues.

Safety was number one.

A high percentage of drivers for Uber are Muslim. Is it really safe to drive with someone whose personal fuel gauge is empty?

In A&E, would you feel safe in the hands of a dehydrated doctor?

Paul rang in to say he runs an engineering firm of 300 people. Last year one person lost a few fingers in heavy machinery. This year he has sent fasting Muslims home on full pay because he can't afford the moral hazard of someone hurting themselves.

And legal advice says he certainly can't afford to send them home on no pay because he will take the heat for religious discrimination.

Obviously public sector employers — spending taxpayers' cash — are even more generous.

The NHS suggests a break every 40 to 50 minutes. Employer advice suggests rearranging the working day around Ramadan, allowing workers to work from home in the afternoon when they are tired and weak from not eating.

A high percentage of drivers for Uber are Muslim. Is it really safe to drive with someone whose personal fuel gauge is empty?

Employers are advised to allow workers to log on and work after they have broken fast.

At 9.30 at night? How the heck is that supposed to be useful to a small business? Will I ask my customers to only place orders after midnight? To only call the office after dark?

Will I rearrange my livelihood around a religion? No I will not.

Non-Muslim workers begrudge the extra breaks and time off. Watching some get special treatment whilst you sit at your desk covering for their absence is no fun.

It is the same feeling I used to get when smokers took breaks, or mums left early each day because little Timmy needed picking up from school.

Why are personal matters employers' problems? Since when did I become responsible for your religion?

I used to think employers pay for the professional, you pay for the personal.

But this is no longer so. I am expected to accommodate the needs of those who are weak and dizzy because they believe they aren't allowed to eat a cheese sandwich.

And the madness of the thing is that fasting is put before progress, too. Thousands of kids will sit exams with their brains addled by hunger.

Exactly how you are supposed to write about the water cycle in an urban environment when you are stuck in an exam hall without a drop to drink is beyond me.

The Muslim Council wanted to force the UK to change exam dates, to disrupt the timetable of the many to accommodate the decision of the few.

I'd bet my last ham sandwich this will be mandatory from 2017.

I fail to see how Ramadan is compatible with normal modern life.

Many argue this Muslim festival is no different to the needs of Christians at Christmas who take time off for holidays or Christmas shopping.

But I don't return from a trip to town starving and desperate for a drink. If I did I'd pop to a non-halal restaurant of my choice.

Moreover, there are broader, more strategic concerns than health and safety or cost to employers.

Ramadan typically coincides with a spike in terror violence. The new target of choice is Europe, I fear it is only a matter of time before we take a much bigger hit.

A security guard looks at the Euro 2016 fan zone, under construction on the Champs de Mars in Paris

ISIS is urging Muslims to strike against the West during Ramadan.

ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani called on jihadists to 'get prepared, be ready … to make it a month of calamity everywhere for nonbelievers … especially for the fighters and supporters of the caliphate in Europe and America.'

The threat is real.

A report by the State Department-led Overseas Security Advisory Council said the threat during Ramadan could be credible because three deadly terror attacks took place last year shortly after Adnani issued a similar call to arms.

This is where the religion of peace gets desperately confused.

Is it a month of self-sacrifice, self-discipline and charitable giving - or of vengeance?

No doubt the Muslim massive will say it is wrong to link Islam to ISIS. But the BBC's own Head of Religion and Ethics says they are inextricably linked. And he IS a Muslim;

President Hollande is warning that Euro 2016, which coincides with Ramadan, will be a perfect opportunity for a terror attack

Speaking recently, Ahmed said: 'I hear so many people say ISIS has nothing to do with Islam - of course it has. They are not preaching Judaism. It might be wrong but what they are saying is an ideology based on some form of Islamic doctrine.'

President Hollande is warning that Euro 2016, which coincides with Ramadan, will be a perfect opportunity for a terror attack.

Scheduled to begin on 10 June, the soccer tournament is expected to draw 2.5 million spectators across 51 games in 10 stadiums nationwide. That's a very big potential target for a terror attack.

Teams from at least 24 countries are set to participate, and cities throughout Europe are also expected to host their own viewing events, potentially drawing large crowds that could also serve as potential targets.

There is always a strange tension in what Ramadan means to the Muslim population in the UK. For the majority it will be a period of self-denial followed by prayer, feasting and celebration.

For others it will be a call to jihad, seen as having special significance during a month in which self-sacrifice is supreme. Martyrdom during that month will hold a special allure to some of the half-starved.

And as ever, Britain and Europe will act as generous hosts to all of this chaos, accepting a religion which is not our own, paying staff too hungry to work, teaching kids who put their prophet before personal progress.

When I told Twitter this column was incoming a young woman asked 'what a white non-Muslim was doing writing a column on Muslims special day'.

It turns out being white is now a problem in my country. And as a non-Muslim, some feel I should not have a voice.

We are endlessly tolerant. Putting our arms around Islam just as the Head of the Caliphate calls for jihadists in Europe to stab us in the back.