Ramadan Kareem!
 

Today is the first day of Ramadan, and living in the Middle East it is a very interesting time. First, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset every day for a month and that includes drinking of any kind. The work day is generally shorter (my husband's hours are 9-3 instead of 8-5), and although non-Muslims are allowed to eat and drink, you're not allowed to be SEEN doing so. There are restaurants open, but they will very much look closed.

The good part of Ramadan, even for a non-Muslim and in fact non-religious person, is that it is a time of introspection. People are more generous, like Christmas time in the western world. Giving food to the poor is a very important part of what happens during this month. Then there's Iftar. Iftar is the breaking of the fast, which will be at approximately 7 PM. There is a religious ritual that happens right on the dot, but then after is DINNER. Every restaurant in town will be serving an Iftar buffet which will have a wide array of foods. And as a non-Muslim, we will be sitting there waiting for the prayer to finish so that we can dig in. You are NOT allowed to start until the appointed time. But then the party starts, and continues on until the wee hours of the morning, every day for a month! Although Muslims fast all day, this is a time of weight gain because they party so much during this time. No, they don't drink alcohol, but with all the food and fruit juices, along with the late nights and diminished exercise (who can think about exercise when you're hungry and tired?), it's a calorie bonanza. Our first year here we went to several Iftars, much to the distress of my waistline. This year we will go to a work/family Iftar and probably one or two others.

The bad part of Ramadan? The worst part is that people are CRANKY, and justifiably so. Especially during the first few days of Ramadan it is best to limit your driving. There is a lot of road rage, and the effect of the fatigue and dehydration is like being drunk so people do really stupid stuff on the road, which of course feeds the road rage. Another annoyance is that everything is just thrown off. I generally meet with girlfriends a couple times a week for coffee or lunch. There will be places open for these things, but only limited places will get licenses to be open during the day, so figuring out where you can go takes some work.

And let's not forget that it's HOT here in the desert, but the outdoor workers do have to continue working. The rule is they are supposed to try to go as long as they can before giving in and getting water. It's not my place to try to fix this policy/behavior, but I find it very frustrating that people risk their health in the name of religion. Yes, people die from participating in Ramadan and that's a crying shame. This year and the next several are going to continue to be beastly through the entirety of Ramadan, which is 10 days earlier every year.

Ramadan Kareem is the greeting people say to each other, as well as Ramadan Mubarak. They more or less mean Happy Ramadan or Blessed Ramadan.

Although I'm not a Muslim, I have worked for a cultural center here so if you have any questions about Ramadan, I'm glad to answer. I will do my best to find you the answers if they reach beyond my knowledge.

I'm always concerned for muslim athletes this time of year. They don't give up their training or anything, and they don't drink any water during the day.

In college, we had quite a few exchange students from the middle east in the engineering school. We had a 6-9pm evening class one fall quarter, and at 7pm on the dot one night, one of the muslim guys announced "I'm ordering pizza for everyone!!!!!" The professor was muslim too, so we ended up having our own little iftar right there in the classroom with pizzas and breadsticks galore. From then until the end of Ramadan, about 3 weeks later, we all brought in snacks to share for after 7pm. :)

I work for an organization in the states with a strong middle eastern and Muslim influence as well. Our executive director prepared us for the crankiness! She also generously works from home a lot during this period.

I enjoyed reading your observations :)

Thanks. I worked for the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (www.cultures.ae) and learned A LOT about life as a Muslim and Emirati. Their Iftar is one thing I suggest to everyone in Dubai at least once because it combines not just the food but an explanation of the prayers and other rituals. There are Emiratis there to answer questions and just chat which is very unusual. For most expats It is very difficult to meet Emiratis any other way. And you're allowed to take pictures of people praying which would otherwise be a totally uncool thing to do.

I don't know if the mosques in the US offer Ramadan programs or Iftar celebrations, but it would be worth looking into and would be an excellent time to learn more about this not that much different than Christianity or Judaism religion that gets so much bad press.

I remember Muslim students in my high school getting a special pass to go to the library instead of the cafeteria during Ramadan- being around all of that food would be torture. I'm sure it's much harder in a western country!

I'm Jewish, and we observe a 24 hour fast on Yom Kippur, and it is definitely not fun- I can't imagine a month of fasts (albeit shorter ones)! Judaism also has an important clause called Pikuach Nefesh, where preservation of human life is paramount to any religious consideration- so if you are diabetic, elderly, etc. you are not supposed to fast. Of course, there are those that do so anyway- I've seen ambulances come to more than one break-fast and temple service. Even if you are perfectly healthy and fasting for any reason, please take care of yourself!!

And a happy and healthy Ramadan to all who observe it :)

I work with a Muslim man. Last year we had to travel during Ramadan, and since we were sharing a car, I didn't bring along my usual snacks to eat during the drive. Once we got to our hotel, I offered to drop him off before I went to get lunch. Turns out he is not as orthodox as some, and he believes those on travel have a slight exemption. He drank water and kept me company while I ate. I can't imagine doing that. I'm currently being fed intravenously, and not allowed to eat -- it's driving me bananas. Every time I see a commercial, smell food, or think of eating, my stomach starts rumbling.

As a Muslim, I have to say that it is hard to work in America during Ramadan. Especially if your co-workers eat lunch at their desks. If you live/work in a Muslim country, offices usually close early during Ramadan.

I end up driving home at lunch and take a nap or just relax, since I cannot eat. Sunrise and sunset in Dubai must be earlier than where I am located. I got to eat something before starting my fast at 4am this morning, and I will have Iftar a little after 8pm.

I live in Rhode Island and we have 5+ Mosques in the state, most of which offer Iftar every night followed by Tarwaeeh. Tarwaeeh is the recitation of the Quran, which takes place over the course of the month.

HannahXO: There is the same understanding in Islam with regards to fasting during Ramadan. If you are not able to fast (i.e. pregnant women, the elderly, people with medical conditions, etc), you are not expected to fast. Also, (sorry men, you probably don't want to hear about this) women who are menstruating don't fast.

DGTess: I know what you mean about being hungry when you see a commercial or smell food. I'm not to that point yet, but I will be in a couple more hours.

My husband's boss is Muslim, and he says that Ramadan is his favorite time of the year, because after he pushes past the hunger and the grumpiness, he says it makes him more focused and more able to appreciate all that he has. I admire him a lot, and I know that the fast has to be challenging because the office is always full of food.

One of my former coworkers is an Orthodox catholic, and they observe a pretty strict fast during almost half the year (lent is 60 days, plus normal weekly fasts, and other holy days)! She's already a vegetarian, but she has to be vegan during fast days, abstain, etc.

As a Roman Catholic and a diabetic, I'm "exempted" from required fasting, but I still observe as much as I can (no meat, light meals, no more than I absolutely "need"). Further, and opinion varies on this, we are called to do something in substitution for not observing the fast-- my way around this is typically to cook extra food for meals on wheels or feed a neighbor or do something along those lines. Since I am "exempted" and allowed to eat, I should share what I am allowed to eat.

I have to admit I checked the calendar to find out when Ramadan was. The lady who braids my hair is a Muslim woman from Senegal. My hair is an all day job and I bring snacks with me. I opted to get my hair done last week because I feel funny about eating in front of someone who is fasting...

I'm going to Morocco next week so I guess I'll get to experience the Ramadan up close!

Years ago (1990 or so) I was in Morocco with another KD during Ramadan. We didn't know what it was. The first day a guide met us at our hotel to take us around and we were both drinking sodas in the hotel lobby. Our guide was shocked that we were drinking during the day. Telling him we weren't Muslim didn't help. We had no idea how disrespectful we had been. I felt awful about it!


DubaiSis, thanks for starting this thread and sharing your insights.

Ramadan Kareem! to those who participate.

Welcome to Dearborn, Michigan.

I heard a while ago that the Dearborn football teams were going to do their 2 a days earlier in the morning and later at night this way those fasting didn't have to practice in the hot sun. I'm not sure if they are still doing this.

Allionna, being a bit closer to the equater, sunrise and sunset at this time of year are both about 7, and doesn't change too much through the year. My understanding is the "rules" say you should follow the hours the the University of Cairo follows if you are far off of similar to Mecca. It is really quite unrealist for a Muslim in Norway, for instance, to follow actual sunrise and sunset where they are. But apparently they still do sometimes!

I went to Iftar tonight with my husband and some of his work buddies. Countries represented at our table, US, England, Australia, India, Pakistan, Italy, Sudan, and Iraq. Usually there's a Lybian and an Iranian there as well, but I guess they were at another party. There were a couple dishes I'm going to have to go in search of recipes for. They were awesome! One guy's wife, who doesn't speak English, was trying to help me with what the dishes were, while her husband translated. I told her about one of my favorite dishes, madrouba, which is a quintessentially Emirati dish. They'd never heard of it and assumed I was pronouncing it wrong because what I was saying was "beaten" in Arabic. And that's what it's called. I won't go into the recipe here, but let me tell you it is the ugliest food that is just a little bite of heaven. Or more likely lots and lots of bites.

Regarding fasting and abstaining, I'm honestly surprised that so many people get cranky. I fast (no food/beverage) on Wednesdays until sunset and I follow Orthodox Christian abstinence guidelines on Fridays. There are other holy days and weeks throughout the year when I fast or abstain, and I try to water fast at least once a year for about a week for health reasons.

I really enjoy it and I can't be the only one! Fasting (meaning no food and no beverage) refreshes me and I guess I do it often enough that hunger doesn't bother me too much anymore.

My max thus far has been 8-9 days without food, because I do get to a point where I start feeling very nauseated. Days 1-2, I feel hungry. Days 3-9, I'm no longer hungry at all. One of these days, I'll do a 30 day water fast.

BTW, it's Wednesday today, so I haven't eaten or drunk anything yet and I feel totally normal. I still follow Orthodox abstinence guidelines on Wednesdays, which also means that my Wednesday night meal is meager.

Key word :)

I'm sure when you first started doing this you were a bit of a cranky banker on fasting days.