MOST people my parents’ age would say that Ramadan is less “family-oriented than it used to be” and it seems to be the time where Arabic TV series and game shows dominate. One thing is for sure, the Ramadan spirit is not what it used to be, that I can say! – a commentator on…...
I remember the beginning of Ramadan a few years ago: the festive supermarkets with their jampacked aisles, the makeshift roadside stalls outside restaurants selling crisp sambusas and subiya, the sounds of adhan emanating from masajid… My house overlooked a Maghsalat-al-Amwaat al-Khairiyyah (a charitable organization which prepares bodies for burial in the Islamic manner), and as I walked home…...
LOOKING at the abundance of food on our Iftar tables, it never ceases to appall me how much time, energy, expense and effort is spent in preparing, consuming, serving and clearing up elaborate meals in the name of “maintaining Ramadan traditions.” It makes me wonder: Who taught us the tradition of the over-laden table and the…...