Ramadan kareem!
Sep. 1st, 2008 10:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatarperegrineToday is the first day of Ramadan. I wish fortitude to all my fasting friends!
My favorite Ramadan moment was the first day of Ramadan two years ago; it's one of my quintessential Doha memories.
On the morning of the first day of Ramadan I made myself tea in the faculty kitchen and then ducked into my friend Paul's office to drink it in secret. A few moments later Doug walked in, looking nonchalant, his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his fleece jacket. After kicking the door closed behind him, he carefully pulled a large mug of coffee out of his pocket.
We were laughing at the lengths we were going to to hide our haram consumption of liquids when there was a knock at the door. John Barr, a CS professor, poked his head in. His trademark hat was in his hands, with the brim held together like it was a purse. Cautiously looking left and right, he opened it with a flourish. It was full of homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Ramadan, at least as practiced by an almost-entirely Muslim society, is all about building a sense of fellow-feeling among those who are enduring the same hardships together. That morning, sharing furtive cookies and tea with my friends behind closed doors, I got a little of that Ramadan community spirit too.
My favorite Ramadan moment was the first day of Ramadan two years ago; it's one of my quintessential Doha memories.
On the morning of the first day of Ramadan I made myself tea in the faculty kitchen and then ducked into my friend Paul's office to drink it in secret. A few moments later Doug walked in, looking nonchalant, his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his fleece jacket. After kicking the door closed behind him, he carefully pulled a large mug of coffee out of his pocket.
We were laughing at the lengths we were going to to hide our haram consumption of liquids when there was a knock at the door. John Barr, a CS professor, poked his head in. His trademark hat was in his hands, with the brim held together like it was a purse. Cautiously looking left and right, he opened it with a flourish. It was full of homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Ramadan, at least as practiced by an almost-entirely Muslim society, is all about building a sense of fellow-feeling among those who are enduring the same hardships together. That morning, sharing furtive cookies and tea with my friends behind closed doors, I got a little of that Ramadan community spirit too.
