Fake fasting

I’m fake fasting

I live in a Muslim household in a Muslim neighborhood. Ramadan started last week; therefore, I’m fake fasting. (And I’ve only done for about half the days.) What’s a fake fast? you might ask. First, I wake up when I feel like it and eat. If you’re fasting, you’re not supposed to eat once the sun starts to rise, so people wake up at 3:30 to eat Sohour. Second, I drink water. So this isn’t fasting for the people in my neighborhood, but for me, going without food for 12 hours is a BIG DEAL.

I love the jouw/ambience of Ramadan, especially about an hour or so before Iftar, when everyone is running home and buying juice and Jallab (sweetened grape juice with rose water) and sweets and all sorts of food. Supermarkets and shops are packed. Dusk is always my favorite time of day; yogis say it’s the best time to do yoga.

The rush is exciting. Everyone is expected to be at home for dinner, or at least out with friends, family, or colleagues. It’s fun waiting for the azhaan/call to prayer. In Shia mosques, the muezzin generally reads from the Qur’an before starting with the “Allahu Akbar” so you have a little final rush preparation time, setting the table before you can dig in. Now it comes around 7:30. The fast is generally broken by eating a date, and there’s always fatoush salad and some kind of soup. After dinner, people watch TV. The soap opera, Bab al Hara, starts at 10. People stay up late; it’s a party every night.

Some people criticize certain aspects of Ramadan. When I first lived in Beirut, I was inconvenienced by shops closing early. Others complain about that man who walks in the streets banging pots and pans at 3 in the morning to wake up the people to eat their Sohour. (But these same people must always be put out by the Fajr azhaan that is recited every morning before dawn, even when it’s not Ramadan.) Then there’s the deadly driving that happens in Gulf countries, where people speed in fancy sports cars down German-like autobahns to get home in time for Iftar.

There’s also the blatant hypocrisy. You’ll see people eating in their cars. Last year, I was going to my friend’s house, walking down the empty alley that I always take when I go to her house (in order to avoid the way-too-crowded streets of my neighborhood.) I was drinking from a water bottle, and two shebab teenage guys on a scooter, yelled at me, “Saimee?? (Are you fasting?)” and laughed as they sped by. As if I were being all sneaky, taking the empty back road to swig from my water bottle.

But “Saimee?” is a very common question. It seems to come up in every conversation, which means that people do not assume one is fasting. In my house, the twenty-something-year-old guys don’t fast. My fiancé’s stock response is “Next year.” He says that every year. His mom will go off a little when Ramadan starts about how he’s going to hell and he’s not a little kid anymore, but then she drops it and makes him sandwiches and packs his lunch.

Only one of the girls doesn’t fast. That’s because she’s thin and weak and faints. She needs to go to work. The girls who don’t work out of the house sleep until noon, then clean the house and later make food, which is a big production. If they have the opportunity, a lot of people seem to sleep during the day during Ramadan.

The big complaint about Ramadan, like the rest of the year, is the price of food. People are complaining enough about it already. (Lebanon hasn’t escaped the plight of the rest of the world’s developing nations concerning rising food prices.) But the prices are even higher during Ramadan. Go figure. They don’t eat all day, but they make up for it at night. People seem to buy more and eat more. Like I said, it’s a party every night.

Last Sunday, a Christian pastor told his congregation that they should fast too, that they should take advantage of the jouw/ambience. Ramadan is the month of repentance and forgiveness. Muslims are supposed to mend relationships at this time, go to people they’ve wronged and ask for forgiveness. At the same time, they are expected to forgive. Of course, as Christians (and as Muslims) we’re called to do this all the time, but it’s nice to have a special month for it.

And what’s our holy month in America? That time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when we’re overtaken by the “season of giving,” which of course means consuming. It’s a time when you can’t find a parking space at the Walmart or Target or Best Buy. It doesn’t really even pretend to be remotely religious. If Jesus is the Reason for the Season, how is that supposed to affect my behavior? Am I supposed to do anything?

People in my neighborhood consistently tell me how they feel closer to God during this month. Some say the gates of heaven open. This year, I’m hoping the fake fast will bring me sort of spiritual renewal. I’ll take whatever I can get.