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Ramadan Without Flavor!
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Being far away from home during Ramadan can be a pretty lonely experience for a Muslim.
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Rushing
back from work to catch iftar with the whole family that has gathered at
your place to share a meal, writing “Ramadan kareem” or “kulli sana wa
enta tayeb” at the end of every e-mail and hearing them at the end of every
phone call, waking up in the middle of the night to hear the voice of the misaharati1
calling for sahur time and watching the special Ramadan TV series and
programs. These are only some of the many rituals that we in the Arab and
Islamic World subconsciously associate with the holy month of Ramadan. And even
though many of us might never have thought about them consciously, we
impatiently wait for them from one Ramadan to the next, as they have become an
integral part of this month, giving it a unique flavor different from any other
time of the year.
While
we are enjoying the Ramadan spirit, and taking it for granted in predominantly
Muslim countries, there are millions of Muslims who are deprived of the amazing
spirit this month is filled with in Muslim countries. While Ramadan for us is,
by default, a month of celebration, religious devoutness, and strengthening
family and social ties, for them, it is the month when their feelings of
homesickness reach a peak, with all the nostalgic feelings Ramadan brings.
Last
Ramadan, I was chatting with a friend of mine in the
United Kingdom
half an hour before iftar and I was wondering what his plans for iftar
were. He said that he was going to eat some apples and drink a coke in the
office because he had “too much work to finish” and there was “no way he
was going to leave work before nine”! As I was thinking about what he had just
said, I sympathized with him for all the things he would miss during this month.
In this article, some of the Arabs who have spent most of their lives in
Egypt
share what it means for them to be away from home during Ramadan, particularly
in non-Muslim countries, which makes the whole experience even harder.
Iftar
at the Office
Can
you imagine iftar in Ramadan without family or friends? If you are living
in a country where Muslims are a minority, you do not only imagine it, you would
actually have to live with it. “During Ramadan in
New York
I was unable to practice most of the rituals that are usual in the Islamic
world,” says Ghalia Gargani, a Tunisian who has spent most of her life in
Cairo
and spent over a year working in
New York
. “During iftar time I was still at the office most of the time, so I
would have to buy food and come back and eat it at my desk. Also, I didn’t
have the opportunity to sit at dinner with my family because of the time it took
me to get home.”
Things
were even harder for Perihan Sayyar, whose stay in
Geneva
for a 10-month period as a WHO intern was her first experience away from home
for an extended period of time. “Back home [
Cairo
], my schedule was conveniently arranged so that I would be able to rush back to
have iftar on time. I was always used to having food ready for me and I
would be breaking my fast either with my family or with friends. In
Geneva
, however, my work, being project-based, involved rigorous analytical research
methods and deadlines to meet. It was not manageable for me to finish work by iftar
time. So I used to stay up late at work and break my fast at my desk.
Oftentimes, I would get cereal, because it was easy to prepare and store.”
It’s
the Little Things That Matter
Many
of the Muslims living abroad also miss the little things that we take for
granted in the Muslim world, such as gathering at the dining table before iftar
in anticipation of the Adhan and the breaking of the fast. “I mostly
missed being enthralled by the different Adhan calls coming out of different
mosques, echoing at iftar time,” says Perihan.
Most
of all, Ramadan is a time when family and friends get together, whether to share
a meal, to pray, to watch TV, or simply with the mere purpose of spending time
and exchanging visits. “For me, Ramadan is about family, and when you are in a
Muslim country everyone is done with work and at home by the time sunset comes.
This is not the case in
New York
,” said Ghalia. “Also, I didn’t have time to watch television programs
that make up part of what Ramadan is. Even though we had a satellite dish that
included Arabic channels, there was no time to sit and watch all of the series
because of the time difference.”
Muslims
Getting Together
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Migrants reminisce about Ramadan in their homelands where all of society becomes geared towards fasting and the streets are lighted up. |
When
foreigners are feeling homesick or missing the feel of what they used to have in
Ramadan, they usually try to find others who are going through similar
experiences to decrease the feelings of loneliness. With Ramadan being
particularly characterized by being surrounded by people all the time and doing
almost everything together, most of the Arabs and Muslims living abroad tend to
get together more than they would normally do at any other time of the year, so
they would at least feel some of the special atmosphere of the month.
“By
the time Ramadan approached, I got to know a few Muslims, mostly from
Indonesia
and
Malaysia
. So, it was a very enriching cultural experience for me to learn about how
Muslims from different countries spend Ramadan at home. I was introduced to a
couple of Arabic cafes, mostly Moroccan, where we used to meet for a hot drink,
listen to Arabic music, play backgammon, and where whoever wished could smoke a shisha
[hookah]. We would reminisce and tell stories of how different Ramadan at
home would be. Late in the evening we would pass by a Lebanese shawerma [meat
sandwich] stand to have sahur and at times a complementary falafel
dish!”
Increased
Devotion
Some
of the Muslims living abroad during Ramadan time miss the collective feeling of
religious devoutness which is a characteristic feature of Ramadan—seeing
people coming closer to God. People are encouraged by one another to practice
religion more intensely than any other time of the year. Despite the presence of
large Muslim communities in most Western countries, it takes a lot more
persistence to practice religion to the same extent to which a Muslim would do
in a Muslim country. “Most of the Arab Muslims I have met at my workplace did
not fast,” said Perihan, “often justified by living abroad for a long time,
how exhausting fasting is, and how inconvenient for their working agenda.”
When
asked about fasting during Ramadan, Miral El-Husseini, who has been living in
the
United States
studying towards her master’s degree, said, “I gave up fasting after the
first day. I just couldn’t go on with this fasting thing. Too hectic and
besides the environment is not exactly supportive. Snoopy people misjudge you
and ask far too many questions which I would have to answer. This can be boring
at times.”
Besides
fasting, the general tendency for goodwill during Ramadan, although not
completely absent in these communities, is not as noticeable as it is in the
Muslim world, and many Muslims miss seeing mawa’id Al-Rahman (tables
set to feed the poor) and other good deeds characterizing this month.
Ramadan
as a Gateway to Islam
When
Muslims fast in the workplace in non-Muslim countries, it is usually a trigger
for starting a conversation about Islam with non-Muslims. “People were very
interested and very empathetic with the whole situation and also had a lot of
respect for the rituals,” said Miral. “Overall they thought it was pretty
fascinating and neat.” Those who shared the same place with non-Muslims spent
even more time explaining the logic behind fasting, which usually led to an
extended conversation about Islam. “Ramadan was a gateway for introducing
Islam and the meaning of fasting to my flat-mates, who were from
Colombia
and
Armenia
,” said Perihan. “At times, they would try to show their appreciation and
encouragement.”
Nowadays,
with the existence of so many Islamic Web sites and online Muslim communities,
life can be much easier for Muslims fasting abroad. Now at least the prayer
times can be looked up, the call to prayer can be downloaded and listened to
during iftar, and it is easier to get in touch with millions of Muslims going
through the same experience. Although these cannot be alternatives for spending
Ramadan at home with family and friends, they make the experience much more
bearable.
Mohammad
Shawky is a graduating senior in the
American
University
of
Cairo
. He is majoring in business administration but is also passionate about
education and learning, social development, performing arts, and creative
writing.
1
In
Egypt
, the misaharati is a man who goes around with a drum and a stick in his
hand, singing and trying to wake the people up to have their sahur and
pray Fajr.
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