Ramadan Laws

Last week the ministry watched the moon closely, and by employing complicated calculations determined that Ramadan would begin on Thursday. It was announced and thus began a month of fasting during the day and celebrating at night. As Americans, the EMDAPer's knew little of what to expect of the coming month except a shortened work day, hungry and therefore angry drivers, desolation under the sun and festivities under the moon.

One thing we had noted was that there would be special deserts, such as the one pictured above, only available during Ramadan. My roommate had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. On her way home from work she stopped at a bakery and bought a box of sweet pastries in the form of gooey cheese stuffed in a fried pastry shell and dipped in syrup. Too excited to wait until she was in her kitchen, she started tasting the treats as she drove. After a bite or two a cop car appeared in the rear view mirror with its sirens flashing. The two furious policemen seemed to be yelling at her, but scared and confused, she decided not to pull over. As far as she could tell she wasn't doing anything illegal. However, the car continued to follow her and a mini chase ensued. Eventually, tired of weaving in and out of traffic and around circles, the cops drove up beside her window, yelled a few more incomprehensible phrases, shook their fists and sped off. Shaken for the entire afternoon, she described the story to several of us that night. One of our friends laughed and explained that it's illegal to eat or drink in public during Ramadan. Since public space differs greatly here as compared to the US, your car counts.

And with this event I started to understand why one returned EMDAPer referred to the holiday as Ramahell. Everything shuts down during the day, there is no alcohol to be found (this is a difficult task without a religious reason to abstain) and due to the fasting, the driving is even more hellish because everyone is hungry and thirsty and therefore irritated.

And yet, besides some of the aforementioned negatives, I think this is a beautiful holiday. While the day is boring, the nights are full of excitement. Around 6:30 or sundown people break fast, which is called iftar. Families gather together to celebrate with huge meals and special deserts. All of the restaurants stay open until the wee hours and live entertainment is abound. Hundreds of people come out of their homes to walk the streets and partake in the festivities. People actually indulge so much in iftar that the BMI of the entire country increases. This phenomenon is particularly amusing because the ideological point of Ramadan is to connect with the poor. One does not eat or drink from sun up to sun down so that they can realize the suffering of those less fortunate than themselves. The month is also supposed to be a time for charity work. The only practitioners exempt are pregnant women and the ill. And they are supposed to make up the days of fasting later in the year. If this is not possible, then they must feed an impoverished person for every day of Ramadan that they missed. In some ways it is very Christmas-esque. My boss even compared the two holidays, stating that in both cases people had lost sight of their real purpose and now simply celebrate consumption.

Regardless, Muslims, and therefore the country of Jordan, take the holiday very seriously. I guess that's something we will have to watch out for;)

*I did not take this picture, but did eat two of these last night. They are a special pancake with nutella inside. A favorite Ramadan dessert.