fasting

I blinked and now it’s the month of Ramadan. Our 9th. Our very first Ramadan we were living in Oman and escaped to Turkey for 2 weeks where we could eat and drink freely during the day. Back then it was in August, but after 9 times of moving 10 days earlier each year, Ramadan is in May for 2019.

Back then during Ramadan people stayed home to escape the heat, nothing was open during the day (and most expats who were able left the country for the summer), but now it’s business as (almost) usual, with kids going to school and having to work around the “no eating and drinking in public” law when their entire day is spent in the public eye.

Technically kids (under 12ish) are exempt from fasting, but there are Muslim kids who are fasting so the school has designated places to eat and resting rooms for those kids not eating. Camille said in her class this year they have to face the wall if they want to take a sip out of their water bottles so as to be sensitive to those who are fasting. That’s an easier requirement than last year where they had to go into a closet to get a drink.

Since we’ve moved to the Middle East, Josh and I have been discussing how the “no eating and drinking in public” mandate will stand up when it really begins to affect the larger community of non-Muslim residents and particularly tourism. In other words, NOW, when it’s falling within the school year and when it moves even earlier into the cruise ship season . . . is it sustainable?

It’s a 37 year cycle, so 20 years ago, when Ramadan was happening in December, having such a restrictive law wasn’t an issue because people weren’t spending their tourism dollars in the Middle East. This is the first cycle through where money is going to face off against religion and I think money will come out on top, especially with the recent downturn in oil prices and other economic belt tightening that has been happening in the region in recent years.

We are already seeing major changes. In only 3 years, over 3 different Ramadans, we have seen a move toward accessibility and accommodation to those not fasting.

2017: a select few restaurants who had permits to be open during the day (I can think of two: Third Place and Jones the Grocer). Permits were difficult to obtain and expensive. In Yas mall the food court was screened in and the number of food places open was not nearly enough to meet demand — lines were 10 deep.

2018: Several more restaurants open, as the permit process had been made easier and less expensive. Also, the first brunches were held with alcohol served during the day, and more malls with open and screened food courts. Coffee was takeaway only. I could order Starbucks as it’s open, but they put everything in a bag and I had to leave to drink it. Thankful for dark tinted windows on my car so I didn’t have to wait until I got home. The alternative was sipping in the bathroom stall. Yep, I’ve done that too.

2019: Some chain restaurants open in the mall (like Five Guys and La Brioche!), coffee places (costa/starbucks/etc) open for dine in, rather than the annoying takeaway only (this is my favorite change), kids are having lunch at school rather than just a snack in the classroom.

This year we were discussing and predicting 3 years until eating and drinking is public is allowed. That might be optimistic, but we are seeing exponential changes year to year, rather than gradual.

We saw the biggest change this year in Dubai on our annual pilgrimage to Atlantis with our friends. During Ramadan last year they had screened the food outlets or kept them closed until after sunset, but this year everything was open and operating as if it were a normal day. Food everywhere, people walking drinking both alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, and music playing (usually music is forbidden during Ramadan).

I can’t wait for the day when I can snap a selfie of daytime coffee drinking during Ramadan and have it not be from the floor of my car or under a desk. On the flip side though, Ramadan always reminds me to be thankful for God’s grace. That he doesn’t require me to fast or sacrifice to earn anything, but that HE sacrificed for me instead.

I find that as the burden of fasting is lifted (like when I can easily run into a restaurant for lunch instead of being inconvenienced), I’m less conscious of the freedom I’ve been given in Christ and I don’t want to forget that. When I’m frustrated by not being able to eat or drink I try and remember to pray for those who don’t know that freedom and that they would come to know God for themselves.