Today is the first day of Ramadan, which is a huge deal in this part of the world, so I thought I'd say something about that. Because as a non-Muslim and after one day of experience with the holiday I must be an expert. But that's the fun of the internet, right? With just a few keystrokes I can relay my self-importance to the world.
Ramadan is the most important holiday in Islam, and it's really the toughest holiday I've ever seen. For 30 days (marking the time when the Quran was revealed), Muslims fast from first light to sunset, abstaining from all food, drink, sex and tobacco. Children, pregnant women, the elderly and infirm are not obligated to fast. The fast is intended to remind people of the suffering of the poor, force them to practice self-control, and impart a sense of kinship among fellow believers. It is traditionally a time when people give themselves over to spiritual devotion.
So how does this play out in the real world?
Well, it's not nauseatingly commercialized like Christmas, although to be fair, Islam is a younger faith - we'll see what Ramadan looks like in 600 years... There are "Ramadan Kareem" (that's Ramadan blessings) signs up in the stores but this holiday is not about decoration and gift-giving. It's all about food.
Restaurants are closed during daylight hours; the liquor store is closed for the entire month. It is illegal for adults to eat or drink in public, even for non-Muslims. The official workday is reduced to 5 hours. Although the megastores (like Carrefour) still have long hours, most stores are closed in the afternoon; they might open again for a couple of hours before sundown or later in the evening. People are advised by the US Embassy to stay off the streets during the hour before sunset because the roads are filled with cranky, hungry drivers rushing home to break the fast. The accident rate is even higher than normal.
The first meal after sundown is called Iftar, which usually begins with dates and juices for quick energy. Later in the evening is a larger feast, which often lasts late into the night. I hear that Ramadan has moved away from a month of self-sacrifice and towards a more bipolar/nocturnal time where the day just shifts forward by several hours... This is the hearsay portion of the account, and I think I should stop before I either offend or say something completely unsupportable.
I'm sure I'll have more later on what Ramadan does to life in Doha.
