Me and Ramadan in Egypt

Prior to coming to Egypt I recognized that I would be arriving at the very beginning of a month of fasting, Ramadan. According to Wikipedia, during which time the Muslim world “refrains from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of Allah, and to offer more prayer than usual. Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.” My 6 month introduction to Islam in Senegal left me very content and comfortable living inside Muslim traditions. I was excited to observe, feel and live in a predominantly Muslim city during this very special season. People warned me that it was “different” to “super annoying”—I thought that impossible and was rather honored to partake. Yes, I know I’m a dork but it excited me.

When I arrived and my body was re-acclimating to the dry heat I felt extremely uncomfortable and even guilty drinking water in public. Nobody else was and it seemed like all Westerners were trying to be respectful of Ramadan restrictions, to the point where I was sick when I got home. You’re probably saying I was being ridiculous to get sick but you trying being the only white girl, by herself, not wearing a headscarf and then drink water in front of people who were also extremely thirsty! Now after two weeks, I’m over my guilt and now can drink when my body demands. Egyptians Muslims might get arrested for breaking fast during the day in public, but I’m not Egyptian nor Muslim.

Another aspect of life that greatly changes during Ramadan is the daily schedules. Office hours at school are until 1:30pm, little street shops are open until 2-3pm so if you don’t have it done by then you must wait until after iftar (breaking of the fast at sundown). Iftar starts between 6-7 depending on the sun’s schedule and the streets are absolutely—and oh so pleasantly—quite. Until about 8pm when all shops re-open and people flood to the streets to smoke sheesha (hookah), drink tea, eat sweets until around mid-night.

Due to these schedules, one must rush, which is a really a joke in Cairo, to get anything done in the morning. Then, for non-Muslims, wait until 8pmish to get anything else done. It also means that all of my night classes which are to normally be from 5-7:30pm are currently 8-10:30pm. After which, each night my roommate and I have gone shopping for towels, general apt items, groceries, the latest Cairien fashion etc and never find ourselves home before 1am!

So really now, almost at the end of Ramadan, lets just say that my sentiments have changed quite a bit. Here are my real questions. How is it a fast if there is a huge meal served around 6:30pm, another one at mid-night and another one just before sunrise? Isn’t that just a change in schedules? How is it a real sacrifice when the government changed the clocks back this year to make iftar an hour earlier? After talking to some Egyptians females who say that Eid (the break of Ramadan) and the days to follow have the highest incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence because un-married men have been celibate the entire month, can they really say they are cleansed after the month? Perhaps, “built up” is better!

I guess it’s somewhat comparable to Catholics in the US during Lent. Status-quo Catholic in US: “Yes, Jesus suffered and died to save my sins. I’m going to give up Diet Coke. Except for Sundays!”

I realize that these are stereotypes and generalizations—but they are based in reality. Really, I’m not trying to offend anyone (I apologize if I did). I’m once again in a unique position with “new culture eyes” that allow me to questions many things about a culture I don’t yet understand. I’m trying to question and not judge. So at the same time, to be fair, I must also question who I am, what I do and why I do it. Ramadan has been an interesting experience. I’m intrigued to see how I’ll feel about it next year, once I better understand the language, the people and have seen life in Cairo w/o Ramadan interruptions.