Happy Ramadan!

Hey friends,

Once again the blessed month of Ramadan will be descending upon us. The tentative date is the 4th of October, and it all depends on the sighting of the moon. I am sure we all have our wonderful moments of Ramadan. I for one certainly miss the Ramadan we would have in Saudi Arabia.

Growing up in Jeddah, the period of Ramadan took on a whole different schedule for us kids going to school. We would get up in the morning, have our breakfast and pray the fajr prayer. School hours would be reduced, and we would be home earlier than usual. Many times my friends I would bring in "Ramadan" excuse notes for our sports class. The main gist of such notes was: please excuse my son from swimming today as he fears he will swallow water thereby canceling his fast, or, please excuse my son from participating in sports today as excessive time in the heat will make him extra-thirsty and dehydrate him. We all knew we were ok, but it was just an excuse to not play sports.

Iftar time, the breaking of the fast, would be a fun time. Dates, Samosays, Rooh Afza, Pakorays and so on. After praying the Maghreb prayer, the kids would settle in front of Channel Two, to watch Full House (which would be heavily censored, with some episodes lasting as long as 10 minutes) followed by America's Funniest Home Videos. All the shopping or going out would happen after the last prayer is finished.

Somehow, growing up over the years, these sweet moments changed. Ramadan just isn't what it used to be for us kids growing up in Jeddah. Ramadan is becoming more and more commercialized. Just like the Christians complain about how Christmas has been commercialized, I think there will come a time when the Muslims will cry out to stop commercializing Ramadan. I have observed Ramadan in Dubai since 1998, except for the year 2004, and each passing year made me see Dubai observing Ramadan more as an opportunity to make money than to observe the real tenets for fasting.

So what is Ramadan essentially? Ramadan is that time of the month which God has set for the Muslim to unite in fasting and prayer, in remembrance of those who are poor, hungry and needy. By restricting our intake of food, water, smoking and avoiding all sexual acts if married, we are supposed to experience what it is to feel like the under-privileged. Not only this, fasting has several spiritual dimensions to it. It is meant to discipline us. It is meant to help us develop a routine of prayer and meditation on the Holy Quran. It is meant to bring us into line with the Quranic teachings on developing a Muslim character and personality. It is meant to make us aware of the needy and suffering Muslims around the world. It is meant to bring us back in line with what being a Muslim is about, and encourage us to carry what we learn in Ramadan over the course of the year till the next Ramadan.

So what's happening to Ramadan? Why aren't people doing what they should be doing?

1. For starters, let's witness the pre-Ramadan rush at the supermarket. A week before Ramadan begins, we have all these supermarkets giving full page ads showing their discounted prices on all basic food stuffs. The madness that you see just days before: long lines, shouting and screaming at the cashiers, arguments between people over stuff running out and so on. All the characteristics of patience, humility, calmness, decency are vanished for a couple of days. Not only this, once Ramadan progresses, it is a bad time to be out on the streets in Dubai as the iftar time nears. No one driver will spare you. They will all be rushing like mad drivers in an attempt to get home on time to break the fast. Somehow, people think if they don't break their fast at home it will be invalid. I don't understand why they don't carry a box of dates and bottle of water if they know they will be caught in the traffic. The pre-iftar is the best time to see all those characteristics of patience, decency and seving others vanish into the air. Instead you see anger, rage, rash driving, cursing and so on.

2. Also, Dubai has a sudden boom in "Ramadan Tents," which are basically places in hotels and restaurants which serve Iftar and dinner. They are very fancy, luxurious and often expensive. Some places can cost as much as 300-400 Dirhams per head for iftar meal. There are some middle range tents as well, and often time you see families in these tents from the minute they break their fast all the way through dinner, to shisha smoking playing games, watching tv and other activities. You hear of people talking about scheduling their day around dinners. "Oh, we are commited to Intercontinental on Thursday, and on Friday we have to go to Jumeirah Beach Hotel..." Lavish iftar and dinner parties are thrown, and the pictures are splashed in the newspaper for the country to see.

3. Ramadan is also a time when the charity organizations are very active. They know people will give and donate more, so these organizations are out there in full force. Sometimes I begin to feel like that these organizations take advantage of the generosity of the fasting public. It's like as if they are thinking: hey guys, everyone is fasting, let's pitch this advertising scheme so they feel sympathetic and we get more money. It's exactly like what the hotels in Makkah do when Ramadan is here: raise the prices of the roommate obscenely high because we know the people will choose to stay no matter what.

4. Dubai, as well as Sharjah, will Ramadan Shopping Festivals, where you will find bargains galores. Dubai has late night souks, filled with stalls after stalls selling traditional items and other goods for those who go shopping late into the night. According to Time Out Dubai, most, not all, nightclubs will be closed, and alcohol will be served only after iftar. Some restaurants will have closed off sections to serve breakfast and lunch. Some may even do takeaways.

5. Office hours are reduced. Schools and Universities let the students go home early. I tell you, the people fasting in this part of the world have it a lot easier. Restaurants are closed. People are fined if they are caught eating or drinking in public. You work less hours. You sleep all afternoon. The whole environment makes it easier for you to fast because you don't see any food or drinks. I remember fasting in the States one year, and that was actually one of my best Ramadan because I was challenged. My university hours were regular timings. My friends would be having breakfast and lunch, I would see students snacking in class, all the while I would be fasting. When I fast here, I realize how much easy it is. Life slows down, people are less active, except in the evening when every is hanging out at the tents or a gathering.

6. The only "Islamic" thing I see during Ramadan here is the International Holy Quran Reading competition that Dubai holds, which is good and encouraging. But even this Holy Quran reading is a competiton, where it's mostly about the money awards. When you have one such event against 100s of Ramadan Tents, I question the perception that people of Dubai have of Ramadan.

7. The saddest thing for me is when every year I see newspapers reporting the same news: more food is consumed during Ramadan than is during the rest of the year. This is so ironic. My Christian friends would ask me: how come more food is consumed when the entire nation is fasting for most of the day. I guess, it's because people choose to fill their stomachs to the max in the morning, and then filling themselves to the max in the evening. So, they don't really feel the hunger pangs as such.

Let's be honest here. Dubai is a commercial city. It thrives on shopping and tourism. So I don't really find it strange that Dubai would choose to see Ramadan as an opportunity to make more money. There will be raffle draws and prizes being awarded in every shopping malls. That's the bottom line here: it's all about the money.

I am sure you all must be thinking why I am taking such a critical view of Ramadan. I am not. This is the reality, and while people may not speak about it, I think I am being honest about things here, instead of brushing it under the carpet. There is no denying the Ramadan is being commercialized, with all the shopping and "festival" like atmosphere in the city, what with all the lights and decor coming up like it is during the Dubai Shopping Festival.

And, oh, Happy Ramadan to you all!

Mansur