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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| When did Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr Become Christmas? |
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| SuperHiMY |
| 12/14/02 at 13:46:53 |
| By Nabila Mahjoub, Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia [url]http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=21064[/url] It is unfortunate that a religious season supposedly devoted to worship and reflection has been turned instead into a shopping extravaganza. The nights before the start of Ramadan and before Eid, we see our cities transformed into giant market places. Shops, malls and even little corner groceries are so full of people scrambling to buy everything they can afford that one would think famine or some kind of calamity was about to strike. People suddenly realize that tomorrow is Ramadan or tomorrow is Eid. Fearing that the shelves may empty before they get to the market, the scramble begins. Immediately after the announcement of Eid, the shoppers jump into their cars, clogging the already overcrowded streets. Inside the shops packed with people, they buy whatever was offered them, without checking either quality or price. The overwhelmed salesmen had no time to argue and if you were slow, someone else would buy the item from your hand? Why waste time checking whether this or that product is of a quality that matches its price? Is this the way of welcoming the holy month of Ramadan and the Eid which follows? Why do people spend most Ramadan evenings in malls and shopping centers instead of where they are supposed to be — mosques and places of worship? I wonder if this unfortunate conduct reflects a state of apathy and helplessness felt by Muslims as a result of what they see happening around them. Is this self-absorption the result of internal factors or does it reflect a failure to confront problems such as soaring prices and unsatisfactory services? How many of us bother to evaluate a purchase in terms of price and quality? People throng shops and willingly pay whatever is asked and often leave with what could have been had for a much lower price than they paid. What most merchants want is to double profits. Is this the ultimate result of a failed system and the indifference of the various municipalities and the Ministry of Commerce? Who is to blame for all this? Can we say it is because of internal or external factors? Or is it simply because we are a people who act too often on impulse alone? HiMY Notes: [i] I dunno 'bout the rest of y'all, but here in Toronto, It wasn't as bad as this, but still there is an element of truth in the above applying to Toronto's muslims... I wanted some dates I saw at the Halal market store (sitting on the counter just a foot or so away from the white-label Riba-automatic teller machine, but that issue deserves its own thread), I really wanted those Dates from Al-Madinah, but alas, no 20 bucks canuck at the time. Later they were gone and I thought how bad I was that I wanted that exact box of dates.... Thoughts? Anyone? [/i] p.s. The writer is commenting on the Situation in MADINAH, Saudi Arabia this past Ramadan. |
| NS |
| 12/14/02 at 17:13:35 |
| SuperHiMY |
| Re: When did Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr Become Christ |
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| theOriginal |
| 12/14/02 at 15:45:26 |
| [slm] Isn't being a good host part of being a good Muslim? I don't know about you guys, but we get a lot of guests (or are the guests quite often) during Ramadan and Eid...how horrible would it be if I didn't serve something half decent to my guests? When Eid approaches, we wear new clothes, decorate our houses afresh, and perhaps buy gifts for eachother. Ain't nothing wrong in that. That aside, I think part of the spirit of Ramadan and Eid is in the food, at least partially, because of the realization of its importance, and its appreciation. That aside, I guess the writer of that article must be writing from a muslim country, which kind of serves as a fallacy of sorts, because I don't remember ever being scammed during Ramadan in the Muslim countries I have lived in. Even if I was. I don't think it makes a difference, because the spirit of the passing month is in the genorisity. That aside, I think the article was severely exaggerated. And that aside, I come to my conclusion: I don't agree that the state of apathy that we see around us is in ANY WAY related to the shopping habits of Muslims during Ramadan. Wasalaam. SF. |
| Re: When did Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr Become Christ |
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| M.F. |
| 12/16/02 at 09:45:44 |
| Bismillah, I don't think it's exaggerated at all. I've starting seeing that over the past few years in Morocco. It's REALLY frantic before Ramadan, around Ramadan 15th, before Ramadan 27th and before Eid. Supermarkets and souqs are full and you see vendors of everything on the streets. But to me the worst of it is supermarkets having Ramadan Sales, starting a few weeks before Ramadan. I was comparing it with Christmas myself. I hate the idea of turning Ramadan into like the commercial high time of the year. Pretty soon companies will wanna wait till Ramadan's over to see how well they did that year, just like companies in the US with Christamas. it's pretty sad I think. |
| Re: When did Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr Become Christ |
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| se7en |
| 12/21/02 at 01:05:53 |
| as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah, I personally think we do go *way* overboard in terms of eating and our attention to food in Ramadan. As our imam here is fond of saying, when we break our fast we tend to do it with a vengeance :) I think we definitely lose sight of the fact that Ramadan is not about eating, it's about *not* eating.. and yes we're supposed to be using this time to appreciate what we have, but also to find satisfaction in something *higher* than material pleasures like yummy food :P w'Allahu a'lam. May Allah accept our deeds this past Ramadan. wasalaamu alaykum :-) |
| 12/21/02 at 01:07:08 |
| se7en |
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