It was truly fascinating spending Ramadan in Morocco. Our few days of Ramadan were spent in Rabat with our host families. Seeing host families, friends, locals, and Rabat as a whole change added significantly to the cultural gain from our trip. Certain images and scenes will stay with me: seeing an entire section of Mohammad V Avenue blocked off by men praying midday, streets entirely absent of people before sunset, sitting around my host family’s dinner table, staring at food on the first day of Ramadan waiting for the call to prayer that would allow us all to eat, and cafes filled with individuals receiving free food for the breakfast. Ramadan, as a whole, was an overwhelmingly positive experience.
Ramadan, like everything else, is not perfect. Many individuals interviewed about Ramadan for a paper written by Aamir and I expressed some negative thoughts about Ramadan. Yet it is important to note that these negative aspects aren’t representative of the overwhelming benefits of Ramadan as a whole. Rather, they are expressions of frustration that Ramadan has some flaws. Some were related to more personal aspects of Ramadan, while others were about Ramadan as a religious experience. It is important to note that all of these expressions are made in efforts to make Ramadan a better, purer, and more pious experience.
Assia, a master’s student at Sidi Mohammad Ben Abdullah University expressed frustration with the heat and her lack of ability to exercise as a result. She also expressed how Ramadan is more difficult for her emotionally since her mother’s passing. Though that later aspect is one that cannot be solved, we did see and learn about individuals exercising the former. Students from the CCCL reported that the gyms were as active as ever – additionally, many could be seen playing soccer on the beach.
Yet other frustrations with Ramadan were much harder to address. Chaime, a university student from Fez, addressed the divide that exists in Ramadan between the rich and poor, even considering zakat that is given, the increase in charity, and many mosques and restaurants providing free food for those in need. Chaime said that she hates “the amount of food people waste.” Referring to the breaking of the fast, she writes “over nine dishes for a meal is not okay.” Amine, another university student from Fez, said “the aim from Ramadan is to be patient and to feel how poor people feel when they don’t find what to eat.”
Another common thread of frustration that we encountered was regarding habits. Amine commented on this, saying that “once Ramadan finishes people get back to their bad habits.” This was something we noticed even in the brief few days we spent during Ramadan. For example, while we sat around a café table with our professor, many individuals indulged their addictions – coffee was continuously flowing, and individuals sitting next to a group of DIAW students and our professor chain smoked cigarettes and hashish. Jihane, a Duke student from Morocco, addressed this too, stating that she tends “to eat a lot and unhealthily after Maghreb, and [tends] to sleep in and take a lot of naps during the day which is not ideal.” She, like others, expressed a desire to improve upon this, stating that it is not the fault of Ramadan, rather a realization that Ramadan led her to develop: “it’s about me not developing a good system and habits for Ramadan.”
The last common frustration, one we witnessed many a time, was that of the fighting that occurs during Ramadan. Those abstaining from eating, drinking, or smoking, naturally became more irritable – I can personally attest to this. Amine expressed this frustration, stating that he doesn’t like it “when some people get angry easily or fight just because he or she is fasting or they can’t smoke.” Jihane went slightly more in depth: many “can get angry for very little things and get into bad unnecessary arguments. If you have been around in Morocco during the day, you might have noticed some people arguing or fighting in the streets… this is ironic because it’s supposed to be the opposite; during Ramadan, we are supposed to have more self-regulation and control over our anger.”
This post and the frustrations used as evidence in it are in no way a condemnation of Ramadan. Rather, they are a praise of it. They reflect spirit of awareness and improvement – this demonstrates that Ramadan is in fact accomplishing one of its purposes: spiritual improvement and purification. It was a pleasure spending some of Ramadan in Morocco and even more of a pleasure discussing it and hearing about it from locals.
