My first Ramadan in the UAE (Pt. 1)
I had never heard of Ramadan before coming to the UAE, which now strikes me as strange. Many of the authors I had read must have spent time in the Islamic world, and I would have thought they would have mentioned Ramadan. Of course, in the British Officers’ Club, the staff served tea at 1600 hours, regardless of where the Club was located, or the Islamic month, so the writers might not have noticed Ramadan, or might have felt it would not be of interest to their readers.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Ramadan, formerly spelled Ramazan, first appeared in English around 1500, in a translation of a French scholar’s description of Islam (he said Ramazan was like Lent). Ramadan continued to appear occasionally in travellers' memoirs, in a few novels, and in Byron’s long poem, Childe Harold, but I had never read any of these.
When I was at university, and after I started working, I met many Muslims, but there was nothing noticeably different about them. No Muslim ever said to me, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t come to lunch with you because it’s Ramadan.’ They all managed to fast without my noticing. All I knew of Islam at the time was the Hajj, and that one of my fellow students from Saudi Arabia had been studying logistics, since he was to be on the Hajj organizing committee after his graduation and return to Saudi Arabia.
As my first Ramadan in the UAE approached, my co-workers warned me that it would be a novel experience, but didn’t really explain, saying I would have to see for myself. They told me that the government would announce Ramadan, and I didn’t realize that it had to start on one of two days, only that it was approaching.
My workplace had many water dispensers scattered throughout the building, as well as vending machines, and a large cafeteria that was always crowded with breakfasters before work started, crowded during the lunch break, and had a smaller crowd of snackers and coffee drinkers the rest of the day.
On the first day of Ramadan, all those water dispensers and vending machines were gone, and the cafeteria was dark and empty.
Workers had taped dark paper over the windows of one small room, and Western employees were told that we could slip into that room for a sip of water, or even a sandwich if we brought it in ourselves, but we must neither eat nor drink nor smoke anything anywhere else.
I was surprised to see some of the Muslims on the staff entering the room, but wasn’t sure how to ask about this. Eventually, someone explained that Muslims who are not Emiratis are travellers, and might not be under a strict obligation to fast until they return home.
Our workday was shortened by two hours, but, on the first of Ramadan, I stayed to finish paperwork and check the news via the Internet, and left the building at my usual time, about half an hour before sunset. I was the last one to leave the building, which was by then dark and silent.
The previous day, the street had been busy at quitting time, with many taxis honking at me trying to find a fare. On the first day of Ramadan, the street was deserted. The place where I worked was set on the outskirts of town, so I started walking to where I hoped there would be more taxis, and, eventually, I heard the familiar ‘beep.’ The taxi then drove me home at 150 kph, a speed that didn’t seem terribly dangerous, since we were alone on the city streets, which were broad enough to handle the normally heavy traffic.
From home, I walked into town and arrived about an hour after sunset. Things seemed fairly normal, if a bit quieter than usual. I selected a restaurant I hadn’t tried before and had supper. When I had finished my supper, I went to the grocer’s where I picked up some essentials. Since my purchases weighed more than I cared to carry, I hailed a taxi to take me and my purchases home.
By this time, though, the city centre was completely filled with people. Some were shopping, some were having a bite to eat, and some were just driving around and honking. The taxi remained stuck in the traffic for an hour. The meter charges for both time and distance, and my usual $1 carfare home had risen to $4. We were still less than half way, so I got out and walked the rest of the way home.
For the remainder of that Ramadan, I continued to walk into town after work, and I also made smaller, more frequent purchases at the grocer’s, since I knew I’d be walking home.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Ramadan, formerly spelled Ramazan, first appeared in English around 1500, in a translation of a French scholar’s description of Islam (he said Ramazan was like Lent). Ramadan continued to appear occasionally in travellers' memoirs, in a few novels, and in Byron’s long poem, Childe Harold, but I had never read any of these.
When I was at university, and after I started working, I met many Muslims, but there was nothing noticeably different about them. No Muslim ever said to me, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t come to lunch with you because it’s Ramadan.’ They all managed to fast without my noticing. All I knew of Islam at the time was the Hajj, and that one of my fellow students from Saudi Arabia had been studying logistics, since he was to be on the Hajj organizing committee after his graduation and return to Saudi Arabia.
As my first Ramadan in the UAE approached, my co-workers warned me that it would be a novel experience, but didn’t really explain, saying I would have to see for myself. They told me that the government would announce Ramadan, and I didn’t realize that it had to start on one of two days, only that it was approaching.
My workplace had many water dispensers scattered throughout the building, as well as vending machines, and a large cafeteria that was always crowded with breakfasters before work started, crowded during the lunch break, and had a smaller crowd of snackers and coffee drinkers the rest of the day.
On the first day of Ramadan, all those water dispensers and vending machines were gone, and the cafeteria was dark and empty.
Workers had taped dark paper over the windows of one small room, and Western employees were told that we could slip into that room for a sip of water, or even a sandwich if we brought it in ourselves, but we must neither eat nor drink nor smoke anything anywhere else.
I was surprised to see some of the Muslims on the staff entering the room, but wasn’t sure how to ask about this. Eventually, someone explained that Muslims who are not Emiratis are travellers, and might not be under a strict obligation to fast until they return home.
Our workday was shortened by two hours, but, on the first of Ramadan, I stayed to finish paperwork and check the news via the Internet, and left the building at my usual time, about half an hour before sunset. I was the last one to leave the building, which was by then dark and silent.
The previous day, the street had been busy at quitting time, with many taxis honking at me trying to find a fare. On the first day of Ramadan, the street was deserted. The place where I worked was set on the outskirts of town, so I started walking to where I hoped there would be more taxis, and, eventually, I heard the familiar ‘beep.’ The taxi then drove me home at 150 kph, a speed that didn’t seem terribly dangerous, since we were alone on the city streets, which were broad enough to handle the normally heavy traffic.
From home, I walked into town and arrived about an hour after sunset. Things seemed fairly normal, if a bit quieter than usual. I selected a restaurant I hadn’t tried before and had supper. When I had finished my supper, I went to the grocer’s where I picked up some essentials. Since my purchases weighed more than I cared to carry, I hailed a taxi to take me and my purchases home.
By this time, though, the city centre was completely filled with people. Some were shopping, some were having a bite to eat, and some were just driving around and honking. The taxi remained stuck in the traffic for an hour. The meter charges for both time and distance, and my usual $1 carfare home had risen to $4. We were still less than half way, so I got out and walked the rest of the way home.
For the remainder of that Ramadan, I continued to walk into town after work, and I also made smaller, more frequent purchases at the grocer’s, since I knew I’d be walking home.
Labels: Ramadan
posted by Dubai@Random at 1:40 pm
4 Comments:
it is still called Ramazan in many of the south asian countries...
Eventually, someone explained that Muslims who are not Emiratis are travellers, and might not be under a strict obligation to fast until they return home.
That info to you was actually a bit simplistic. Bear in mind that as in other religions there are degrees of adherence. That ranges for example from those who pray five times a day those who go to the mosque once on Friday to those who don't pray at all. Observation of the fast follows similar habits. In a coffee shop I use, which is curtained off during Ramadan, there are often Emiratis eating & drinking during the fasting period.
There are no hardships in travel these days unlike the old when the Arabs( Mentioned because it was here that Islam started ) travelled on Camels for days through the desert to reach their destination.Fasting was exempt in those conditions.
I find it amazing that the Arab world enforce a rule for public cafetrias abd hotels not to serve during the Ramadan time, but areas such as the food court in Dubai Airport Freezone seem to have no restriction during Ramadan.
There are Moslems all around the world who fast during Ramadan, but we never hear of those countries shutting down eating places during Ramadan.
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