Ramadan legalities
When I first came to Morocco, Ramadan was a novelty to me; such that I wanted to try it. How tough was fasting daytime for a month? Hard for the uninitiated. But, I learned that it included feasting at night! It was everything related to it - special foods, changed time schedule, special TV programs, and the global Muslim community sharing in the same experience. Groupness. We learned about harira, shabakia, and dates. It was all interesting and exciting - the first time around.
The challenge was how to stop focusing on food! After all, the women and housewives were in the kitchen preparing all the soup and foods and that's all they talked about all month. And how tired they were. It was pretty hard to not think about food. Everyone talked about it. My idea of fasting is to set aside normal eating time to pray and meditation.
There lurks another side to Ramadan. More people get sick and go to the hospital than any other month - from overeating! The rich foods are expensive and puts financial pressure on families - and this isn't even Aid Kebir! Housewives bear the greatest burden of cooking and preparing all the meals; the suhur at 4:30am, faTur at 6:30pm, and Asha' at 10pm. Towards the end of the month, they are exhausted. Everyone else gets grumpty, too.
Because smoking is forbidden during the day, the men go into nicotine withdrawal. They shake and are nervy. Tempers flare up.
Ramadan is really about fasting and feasting. Fasting daytimes and feasting at night. Now, there are pious ones who pray at the mosque and aren't feasting, but these men and older women do not have the responsibility of making all the meals.
Another legality is the enforcement of Ramadan. Every year there are cases of Moroccans arrested for eating during the day. One year a fundamentalist univeristy student took the law into his own hands and stabbed another student caught lunching in his room.
Today, as i sat in the local park, a group of European ladies gathered on a bench nearby. Apparently they were snacking. A group of Moroccan students walked by. Then, one stopped, turned around and approached the ladies. He addressed them in French and English about how it was impolite to eat publically.
One European answered, (in Arabic) "Are you fasting? OK, well then go!"
The student excused himself and left.
The challenge was how to stop focusing on food! After all, the women and housewives were in the kitchen preparing all the soup and foods and that's all they talked about all month. And how tired they were. It was pretty hard to not think about food. Everyone talked about it. My idea of fasting is to set aside normal eating time to pray and meditation.
There lurks another side to Ramadan. More people get sick and go to the hospital than any other month - from overeating! The rich foods are expensive and puts financial pressure on families - and this isn't even Aid Kebir! Housewives bear the greatest burden of cooking and preparing all the meals; the suhur at 4:30am, faTur at 6:30pm, and Asha' at 10pm. Towards the end of the month, they are exhausted. Everyone else gets grumpty, too.
Because smoking is forbidden during the day, the men go into nicotine withdrawal. They shake and are nervy. Tempers flare up.
Ramadan is really about fasting and feasting. Fasting daytimes and feasting at night. Now, there are pious ones who pray at the mosque and aren't feasting, but these men and older women do not have the responsibility of making all the meals.
Another legality is the enforcement of Ramadan. Every year there are cases of Moroccans arrested for eating during the day. One year a fundamentalist univeristy student took the law into his own hands and stabbed another student caught lunching in his room.
Today, as i sat in the local park, a group of European ladies gathered on a bench nearby. Apparently they were snacking. A group of Moroccan students walked by. Then, one stopped, turned around and approached the ladies. He addressed them in French and English about how it was impolite to eat publically.
One European answered, (in Arabic) "Are you fasting? OK, well then go!"
The student excused himself and left.
posted by Carl | 1:46 PM
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