A Newbie’s Guide to Ramadan

Traditional Khaleeji figure cushions as seen in a Katara Cultural Village boutique, Doha, Qatar, June 2016.

“Ramadan Kareem!”

The Holy Month of Ramadan began today, June 6th, 2016, and with it, the billion-plus Muslims around the world embarked on a month-long fast that involves abstaining from drinking, eating, smoking, among other things, during the day and specifically from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan is a thirty-day fast that falls in the ninth month of the Islamic or Hijri calendar (which is why it is always at a different time of the Gregorian calendar.)  Ramadan will culminate in Eid-Al Fitr (when the Muslim world celebrates the end of the fast and life – especially the eating and drinking part – resumes as normal), which is akin to Christmas in that people generally buy new clothes to mark the end of the fast.  The day before Ramadan, the streets are decorated with colorful lights to mark the special month.

For newcomers to the Middle East, Ramadan can be a shock to the system, for, depending on where you are in the Middle East, you will either not notice it at all (unlikely) or you will feel the difference because everything grinds to a complete halt during the day since fasting begins at sunrise and ends at sunset. In the GCC, this means that this year, fasting will last an average of fifteen hours per day, which means the Muslims around you will be working, driving and living on no food and no water in 50 degree Celsius heat and higher as we get deeper into the summer months. Note that not all Muslims will fast – menstruating women are exempt, the infirm and children are generally exempt (although if you skip a day during the actual month of Ramadan, you will be expected to make it up later.)  Ramadan is legally enforced so, regardless of your religion, assuming you have one, you will be expected to follow the rules and failure to do so may land you in hot water.

Even if you are not fasting yourself (you might end up fasting by default if you do not know how to manage) and, as a guest in a foreign Muslim country, you it behooves you to acclimatise quickly to the social protocols and quickly become sensitive to the rules and actual punishable laws in place in many Muslim and/or Arab nations.

Here are some facts about Ramadan and tips on how to negotiate it without causing insult or injury to anyone:

• Ramadan is a month of physical and spiritual purification. Therefore, drinking, eating and indulging in intimate relations during the day are strictly forbidden (unless exempt by virtue of age, infirmity, etc.);
• In the GCC at least, eating or drinking in public is not only frowned upon, it is against the law;
• It follows that alcohol is unobtainable in restaurants and in alcohol distribution centers during the month of Ramadan;
• If you work in an office, the omnipresent “tea boy” will disappear as tea will no longer be served during Ramadan.  If you do not fast, you should bring your own thermos to work.  If you have your own office, all the better, you can close your door and eat and drink in private.  However, be polite and discrete and do not advertise the fact that you are not fasting;
• Work hours are reduced considerably.  In Doha, the Ramadan working times have been reduced to five hours from 9am to 2pm.  Ramadan working hours are protected by the local labor law of the country as well as contractually.  You do not have to fast to be entitled to work the reduced hours;
• If you value your life and sanity, you will not be on the roads in your car a half an hour before the fast ends.  The anticipation and the hunger after fifteen hours of fasting mean that oftentimes, good and safe driving is trumped by the desperation to get home. In the beginning of Ramadan, people will be especially irritable since they won’t have had cigarettes and coffee since sunrise.  Be wise and drive defensively;
• Life starts at night during Ramadan.  During Ramadan, you may step out during the day time and think you have landed in a sci-fi set for a futuristic movie – nobody is around.  But at night, life begins and typically the souq, restaurants and hotels all cater to fasters who will break the fast with an “Iftar” (which literally means “to have breakfast” in Arabic) and later, with the “Suhoor” mean, which is the last meal before sunrise;
• As Ramadan is a holy month, it is important to be aware of this fact when getting dressed to go out.  Many women will mark the holiness of the month by donning a hijab (the headscarf worn my many Muslim women) only for this month.  Be respectful, behave and dress modestly as your behavior might attract complaints and unwanted attention;
• Use Ramadan as an excuse to learn about the Arab culture which is intrinsically linked with Islam (although that is not to say there are no Arab Christians and Jews, but this is not relevant to this discussion);
• A proper Ramadan greeting is “Ramadan Mubarak” and/or “Ramadan Kareem!”  Do not be afraid to offer up such wishes to your Muslim friends and colleagues as a mark of respect;
• If you must eat and drink during the day, many hotels and restaurants will cater to those who are not fasting – be prepared to enter into restaurants that are cloaked in secrecy during the day.  If you are in the gym and you need to drink water, you might find yourself having to go somewhere hidden to take a sip as it will be frowned upon to drink water in public during Ramadan (there are some exceptions, you can eat, drink and smoke in five-star hotels in some private and closed off parts of the lobby).  If in doubt, ask the staff where you are if it is okay to drink, eat and/or smoke.

Most importantly, relax into it – the Arab world is steeped in traditions.  Ramadan is a particularly family and community-centric month. Rather than balk at the austerity of the month, embrace it and use it as your own spiritual and physical journey that will inevitably earn you greater understanding of the traditions and mores of the Arab world.