Ramadan Without Flavor

Being far away from home during Ramadan can be a pretty lonely experience for a Muslim.

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 theUnited 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

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, A graduating senior in The American University in Cairo majoring in business administration, but is more passionate about education& learning, social development, performing arts, and creative writing.

1 InEgypt, 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.