Ramadan 2011 -- the Finale

So the country had been waiting with anticipation as to whether Eid would be called tonight. Some Muslims would be watching the sky for the first light of the crescent moon, which indicates that the month of Ramadan has ended, and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs sent out a notice encouraging people who think they have seen the crescent Moon to report it to them immediately. A Muslim friend of mine suggested that after Iftar we go to a rooftop and look for ourselves if no announcement had been made yet.

At the café they had all of their televisions on an Arabic channel where reporters and scholars were following the event and reporting which countries had declared the spotting of the crescent Moon. My Arabic is still pretty poor but I do recognize the names of countries so was interesting to hear them updating the audience about Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain etc.

The crowd at the café suddenly got excited -- Saudi Arabia had announced the sighting of the crescent Moon! Surely that meant Qatar would soon announce it as well. A report then came in that Kuwait had also announced the sighting. And sure enough, a couple of minutes later, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Qatar announced the sighting of the crescent Moon -- the month of Ramadan had ended. You no longer had to fast.

In fact it is prohibited from fasting on the first day of Eid. “Eid” roughly translates as “festival” and Muslims are expected to celebrate the occasion. A Muslim does have the option to fast for six further days after Eid but those are optional and most Muslims do not do it. I don't think anyone I know is.

It wasn't long before I was receiving texts and phone calls from friends wishing me “Eid Mubarak” (Blessed Eid). Work sent a text saying that Eid had been called so our three-day closure starts now (no work tomorrow!), and many Qataris were busy getting . . .


... haircuts.


It is traditional that on the first day of Eid you wear new clothes, wear a nice perfume, and generally look your best. So when Eid is called many Muslim men head to their barbers for shaves, haircuts, and beard trims. One of my Qatari friends called me from his barber; he said there was such a big lineup he would likely be waiting over two hours. His barber doesn't take reservations for Eid anymore as in previous years it was leading to arguments so it's now first come-first serve. This is the busiest time of year for barbers and most of them will be open well into the night, or maybe all night, to keep up with the demand. It is also the busiest time of year for tailors who in the 2 to 3 weeks leading up to Eid are flooded with orders for new thobes from customers.

For Qataris there is a special Eid prayer at dawn and otherwise most the day will be spent visiting relatives. Parents, uncles, aunts, and especially grandparents and elders, all expect to see their family today, and meals at your grandparent’s house is common. Given that Qataris tend to have large families that means there's a lot of relatives to see. One of my Qatari friends said he expects to be doing a lot of driving as he takes family members from house to house visiting relatives.

Not knowing what night Eid falls on can make planning vacations a little annoying. I booked my trip to Italy back in June and had to guess when Eid would start. I was off by a day and I'm flying out the night of the 31st, so my first day of Eid will be here. I'll be meeting up with friends.

But first I think I will go to the barber and get a shave. After breakfast.

Eid Mubarak everyone.

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