Ramadan Kareem

Well today is the beginning of our second Ramadan in the Middle East.

So while this maybe the holiest month for Muslims what does it mean for us? Reduced work hours, no eating, drinking, smoking in public, wearing slightly more conservative clothes (obviously for work this is not an issue, but for women this means covering up a little more than usual), and really just letting everything slow down a little. Of course the roads just before Iftar will be a bit crazy and then once the fast is broken everything will come back to life. So on a superficial level there is only minor disruptions and a more relaxed attitude to getting things done.

But what is the holy month of Ramadan really about. For those that don’t know you can go and read about it on Wikipedia although if you do a Google search you will probably find far better sources of information. For me personally I think it is a good time to embrace charity and forgiveness, but even more importantly than that I believe it is a time for respect and appreciation of the Islamic culture and heritage of this beautiful region of the world and be thankful for the experience of being here.
If you are wondering about the translation of Ramadan Kareem, I was talking to my students yesterday and they really couldn’t pinpoint a direct translation, although there is the literal one. One of the guys suggested that it really means something along the lines of “may you be kind, generous and giving during this month and be rewarded from the highest level”; I thought that was a nice way of thinking about it all!