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Ramadan
in London
Nadia
Barb
For
over a billion Muslims all over the world, Ramadan is a
special month for introspection, devotion to God, and self-control.
In fact it is almost like a form of spiritual exercise.
However, if you happen to be living in London, Ramadan is
just like any other time of the year. It is business as
usual. If you walk down the high street, the restaurants
are as busy as ever, always a constant stream of people
going in and out, no awnings or blinds to hide the customers
inside. There are no noisy sirens to inform you at the end
of “Imsak” or “Sehri” nor is there a melee of azaans
to tell you that it is time for “iftar”. Here the onus is
on oneself to go to your local mosque (if indeed you have
one nearby) and get a timetable for the month, or wander
down to your local (halal) butchers or “deshi” grocer and
get the timing from them and if neither is conveniently
located then just having to print one off the internet.
For
different people Ramadan holds a variety of meanings. For
some it is spiritual cleansing, for others it is an act
of self discipline and for others it is simply a time to
spend with family. Recently there has been an emergence
of a handful of Radio Stations such as Radio Ramadan and
satellite TV channels that broadcast programmes relevant
to Ramadan. Many of the mosques around the UK tend to see
an increased number of attendees for prayers during this
month, especially for Maghrib and Tarawih prayers. Shopkeepers
of Islamic Bookstores have found that there is a marked
rise in the sale of religious books especially the Quran
and even Hijabs at this time. But these are the more subtle
changes that do not necessarily have a direct impact on
the day to day fasting of most of Muslims living here.
Sitting
in London, there is also never any of the frenzied activity
that you can observe on the streets of Dhaka when iftar
time is imminent --everyone trying to rush back home or
get to wherever they are due to break their fast. Unlike
Bangladesh, in the UK, office hours do not change nor do
school timings or holidays. So for most people, breaking
their fast consists of a quick sandwich in their place of
work, a packet of crisps or even a bar of chocolate whilst
travelling on the underground. In my case it is listening
to Sunrise Radio (an Asian radio station) where they have
half an hour of sayings from the Quran and waiting for the
azaan, armed with a bottle of water and a couple
of biscuits as I am inevitably on my way to picking up my
kids from school. Sadly a far cry from the “peaju”, “moori”,
and hot “jilapi” that you might come across at home. I console
myself by thinking that eating all that delicious fried
food is not good for my health and that a sandwich or a
bowl of soup is definitely a healthier option (however,
I never seem to be able to really convince myself of this!)
On
the other hand if you happen to live in East London where
there is a high concentration of Bangladeshis, the atmosphere
is some what different. A lot of the shops open a little
later than usual (a side effect of waking up for sehri
and fazr prayers no doubt); the restaurants are not as busy
during the day and you can buy mouth watering samosas,
puris and even khichuri at the shops. There
is definitely a buzz in the air and people feel a sort of
affinity with each other as they know they are not the only
ones fasting or observing Ramadan. In fact when it is time
for iftar, you can buy “iftari boxes” or have a
special iftar menu in restaurants. If you happen
to walk into a grocery shop, a travel agency or a doctor's
chamber, you find people sitting and breaking their fast
together sometimes with store-bought food or home made items.
In parts of London where there is an Arab influence, such
as the Edgware Road (near Oxford Street famous for its shops),
the streets are busy and the shops open into the small hours
of the morning. People say their Tarawih and go back to
sample the tasty dishes on offer and chat with friends and
relatives.
The
whole experience of fasting and observing Ramadan in a country
where the population is predominantly non-Muslim can become
a little lonely and isolating at times. But one can also
get a sense of achievement at having observed Ramadan in
an environment not necessarily equipped for such an exercise.
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