Brutal Ramadan
Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan. As I headed out early to the markets, it was a breeze. It was hot, but not too bad. Schools are later during Ramadan, so the roads were clear. It wasn’t too bad, not until around 10 a.m. when I started getting thirsty and reached for a bottle of water, which, fortunately, was not there, or I might have taken a swig without a second thought, just out of habit.
“Oh my good sweet Lord,” I thought to myself, “how are these people going to make it through the day?”
I knew all I needed was to get home, and behind my closed doors, in the privacy of my own home, I could sip to my heart’s content.
But what about my brothers and sisters, fasting in this heat? To make it worse, high humidity set in, when you walk out your door, your sunglasses steam. It is so hot that the car’s air conditioning finally cools you down just about as you are arriving at your destination. Heat, humidity, heavy traffic and fasting – what a test of spiritual fortitude.
Last year, I discovered late afternoon – around four – was a good time to hit the co-op. I am guessing that it wasn’t the first day of Ramadan when I figured that out – because at 4:00 yesterday, the co-op was full, mostly men with their phones to their ears, men with that harassed look on their faces that says they are feeling desperate as they try to fill the list, buy the things that their wives MUST HAVE to make their first breaking-of-the-fast meal a perfect one.
The lines were long. The aisles were messy, the special displays had been hit and there were cans and soaps and things all over the floor. The bread wasn’t even on the shelves, customers had to dig into the delivery bins to pull out a loaf. All the helpers were up front, helping bag, helping clean up, helping customers tote their loads out to the cars, which were jammed into the parking lot, as other cars trolled, looking for a spot.
For such chaos, it was not noisy. People were subdued, suffering, just trying to get through this purgatorian experience, knowing that the best is yet to come. I saw no yelling, no pushing, none of the behaviors that being hot and hungry and desperate can bring on. People were patient. I respected their commitment.
But one thing caught my eye. Above the cashiers, there are now flat screen tv’s beaming luscious photos of food at all the fasting Moslems. Pancakes, being loaded with honey. Whipped cream loaded onto sweet, tempting fruits. Cakes, pies, rich and gleaming, meats dripping with fats on the grill. I looked around. Most of the customers had their eyes firmly on their baskets, on the ground, anywhere but on those flat screens. How awful, having those images broadcast repeatedly while you are still a good two hours away from breaking your fast!
The parking lot was bearable. There were still people driving a little desperately, looking for spots. Still people squealing their wheels in their eagerness to return home. Still a few horns honking, but not so many as you might think. I was amazed and impressed at the forbearance of the fasting customers.
The image at the top is posted because it looks cool and clear. It can take you to a cooler place, as you endure through the day. I wish you success with your fast.
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I was out after dark last night, and could not believe how empty the restaurants were. When we lived in Kosovo, on the first night of Ramadan, our electricity was out and we didn’t have a generator… so we went to our favorite restaurant to get supper. When we got to the glass door, we could not see inside because there was so much smoke! I will never forget that. We did manage to find a waiter and place our order outside. I don’t think anyone smokes like Eastern Europeans… we got a really good laugh out of it. But here, the first night… everyone is enjoying their first meal in their homes, with their families. Granted, the electricity is a little more reliable here… but the only place I have been during the entire month of Ramadan was in Kosovo, and it was the restaurants where everyone went for their first meal. By the way, what are those big round brown tortilla looking things they are selling outside the bicola’s (sp?)? There were vendors outside the mosc by our home too selling them… please excuse my ignorance, I am just curious.
mimfoy, they’re called Qatayif and they’re just like pancakes. We fill them up with thick cream, sprinkled with pistachio powder and on top sugar syrup. You can have different fillings like walnuts with cinnamon powder. They can be eaten as they are or deep fried
Oh… that sounds delicious and decadent! Thank you. Have a Blessed Ramadan.
“purgatorian experience” © & ™
;p
Oh, for a minute there, I thought you were fasting. 🙂
I always wonder why non-Muslims should not be allowed to eat in public during Ramadan; I understand it is about respect, but if one of the goals of fasting is empathy for the poor, then surely we should all try to understand the true struggle of how a person without has to face seeing those with, everyday!
“Pancakes, being loaded with honey.”
did u have to say that?
I wanted to comment on the ban of underwear in stores in Kuwait. I am currently living in SA and soon to move to Kuwait. In the stores here you have underwear hanging all over everthing, with mannequins with no heads, but nipples completely erect, like little missiles. Don’t you love it?!
Well,in the last sentence you said, “things are changing in Kuwait.” This is scarry for me. Because one of the reasons why I am coming to Kuwait is to get “freedom”
Any comments!
If anyone has good things to tell me about Kuwait, I would love to hear them.
Thanks
kiki
Since you are planning a move to Kuwait , if i were you , i wouldn’t let something as skimpy as lingerie get between me and freedom of course relative to the kingdom .
looking forward to seeing you here in kuwait , one more car on the road 🙂
Mimfoy my friend :
Eating first meal in ramadan at restaurants as a family group is a practice in Syria , Lebanon maybe Jordan and palestine . it has not caught on yet in the gulf area , i know in suadia arabia they take their first meal in an outing like a small picnic ( Al taif Area )
Welcome back
Mimfoy, we have a friend in the restaurant business here who says that Ramadan is a grim time for them. I think some of the hotels do OK because groups schedule large gatherings later on in Ramadan, it’s a very social thing. My impression is that Ramadan in the Gulf is a time for sticking closer to home. Meanwhile, from sunset for a couple hours, woooo Hoooo, the roads are ours!
Pearls, thank you for jumping in. Are those the very very very thin pancakes made over something that looks like an upside down wok with a springy batter that leaves just atoms on the hotplate?
Purg, that’s purgatorian with a small “p”, common adjective, not copyrightable, heee heeee heee heee.
Carly, no, I am not fasting but very aware of those who are.
Mrm – LOL – so imagine these lines of fasting believers being confronted with these images at the Co-ops!
Kiki – I transferred your comment to the Sharks and Underwear entry, too.
Thanks for helping out, Daggero. A picnic sounds like a lovely way to break the fast.
[…] but I wanted to share with you the thoughts of a Non-Muslim Kuwaiti Expat on Ramadan in Kuwait. Brutal Ramadan Also check out her recipe section, many of her recipes are ideal for iftar…maybe (hint hint) […]
Greetings, from a former ex-pat to a current one. Plus, I am Muslim.
I have often wondered how outsiders view us during Ramadan, what they see and think when everyone around them is fasting, which means more than just going without food and drink for long periods, it means remembering that it is Allaah who commands us to do this, that we are doing it to gain what everyone translates to as “god-fearing” (but really doesn’t do the word taqwa justice!), and remembering that we are supposed to be patient, calm, refrain from losing our tempers, and even more than what I am listing here.
The other thing is, it really isn’t that big a deal to see food when you are fasting. Women don’t fast when we are menstruating, so the men are used to seeing family members eat and drink discreetly. And as an American, I am surrounded by people eating and drinking while I am out and about for family or for work. I am patient, not a biggie, I know that I get further blessings for being restrained in the presence of food smells and sounds of eating and drinking, to say nothing of seeing it around me. Food commercials are something to look at impassively, turn away from when I get really really hungry (which does happen), or to inspire me for what I will cook when the time to break the fast comes, or where I want to go out to dinner. At least in KSA, we could get it delivered for later! Not so easy in urban Wshington, DC, in an area better known for drug dealers than quiet discussions of religion or children playing without profanity.
I envy you. I would love to be in a Muslim country again, but as long as my parents need me, I am here, fasting, where only the Muslims whom I live with or encounter at the masjid know the tranquility and beauty of these days.
Allaah yahaideek!
I will assume that anyone with the “luxury” of reading this blog does not have to work hard outdoors. Fasting for us is relatively easy, even in these conditions. I live opposite a HUGE building site. The men have worked here since April, and the houses are almost complete. I’ve seen them work in 50+ degree heat and sandstorms for many long hours.
Today I noticed that they are all working their normal hours – and I know many of them are Muslims. I pray their health doesn’t suffer; and I hope that their fasting is accepted – with double credit 🙂 – and that their prayers are answered.
Ramadan Mubarak everyone.
Maryam – I have attended meetings where most were non-Moslims and food was present, and Moslems have attended and not eaten. They felt as you did, that with patience and commitment, the temptation only adds to the credit you gain by not indulging.
Thank you for your additon to these comments. Oh! I agree! When I am in the USA, I really, really miss delivery!
BuYousef – You are so right. It seems to me some of the laborers are starting earlier and finishing earlier during Ramadan, but I also see those who are not. You are right, that is truly truly brutal, may God have mercy on them.