Ramadan from a infidel perspective

Ramadan, which is the holy month in the Muslim world based on the ninth lunar cycle, is meant to mark the time when the Qu’ran was revealed to the prophet Mohammed. It is a transforming time in Cairo, and seems to captivate this city of 18 million in ways that nothing else in the world can. I am in no way qualified to explain it, but here are some of my understandings and observations.

If you are Muslim, you aren’t allowed to eat, drink, smoke, or have sex until after the evening prayer which happens around 6:20 (each day it becomes a minute less) unless you are elderly, sick, or pregnant. This breaking of the fast is called Iftar, and it must be done communally, usually with families, but many charitable groups and restaurants put out large tables with free food for the poor or for those who aren’t able to get to their families in time. Ironically, this is called “breakfast.” During this time the main streets of Cairo which usually are a jungle, are about a tenth as crowded, and side streets are completely dead. So for the non-Muslims, this is the ideal time to get somewhere in the city. If you want to be like the prophet Mohammed, you eat dates and drink milk, which some taxi driver shared with me and David when we caught a taxi at Iftar, but the typical meal is soup and rice with some ful (beans) and maybe some lahma (meat). Once the sun comes up, you aren’t allowed to eat again, so the last time people eat is call the suhur, at around 4 in the morning to be finished by the time of the morning prayer at 5 AM.

The whole idea is to think pure thoughts, be extra charitable, and to work on being a good person. Although that is the purpose, it is evidently taxing on some of the other teachers. One of the new foreign teachers of grade 4, Javier – from the States and Puerto Rico, is constantly grumpy and stressed because he sleeps only 3 hours a night (because he has to hang out with his Fiancée’s family until midnight), not to mention he has never taught before… Pretty much all of my students (10 and 11 years old) are fasting for the first time, and at school that means shorter classes – we end at 1:30 so the bus drivers can get home, and more breaks during PE class. I don’t eat at school anyways, (or I will discreetly snake at my desk in my staff room) mostly out of respect – except for this one time when I was on break duty (which is when the younger students can buy food from the canteen), and this one third grade bought a frosted carrot cake, which he couldn’t finish in time and of course couldn’t bring into the class room. I was starving so I did him a favor and ate it. The whole no alcohol rule is big too. Although it is hardly followed by all Muslims, during Ramadan, it is extra bad if you drink, so for the most part, all of the bars and nightclubs are closed.


I saw this on a walk I took today. Gotta love Chilis..