Ramadan and Its Discontents

Ramadan probably begins on Wednesday. I say probably not because I am too lazy to check the calendar, but rather the ulema must wait to view the moon later this week before they are properly sure than Ramadan is allowed to begin. It's kind of like Groundhog's Day in that regard. But no Bill Murray.

I first moved out to the Gulf in the middle of Ramadan 1430 (This Ramadan we are gonna party like it's 1431 -Hold up, it is-). I spent the first bit of it apartment-searching, and was frustrated by many of the special Ramadan laws:
-No music
-No eating in public
-No drinking (even water) in public
-Most ABC establishments are closed
-Open ABC establishments must keep all lights on
-No loud noises or singing
It was always a pretty restrictive atmosphere during the day. In Saudi Arabia, we confined ourselves to the hotel where we could at least order a room service shwarma if we felt peckish.

But at night in Saudi, everything changed. Upon the sundown call to prayer, everyone would eat the date given them, and proceed to engorge themselves on massive nightly feasts. Eating is tiring. My favorite iftar occurred in a large ballroom in downtown Riyadh. The buffet was probably 100 yards long, and I am only slightly exaggerating, and wound its way around the magnificent centerpiece: 1 whole baby camel, pressure boiled and served with rice.

I can appreciate the theoretical basis for Ramadan. Everyone spends lots of time with their families, spends their days fasting, reading the Quran and in prayer. But in practice, Ramadan is heavily commercialized and focused more around feasting and partying. Most Gulfis becoming essentially nocturnal, waking up late in the afternoon to avoid feeling too hungry. Malls are open til 4am, and have a month of Ramadan sales. In fact, Ramadan is not too different from the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season in the States.

I'm still torn over whether Ramadan should be a more austere, pious month, or if my opinion is too much of a double standard. Either way, for the next month I won't be fasting, but I will be feasting.