One of the things I love about Ramadan is how interested people become in the moon and sun’s activities during that time of the year. There’s no doubt that people fasting in Iceland or Sweden for over 20 hours this year will be aware of exactly how many minutes the sun will be shining and why.
With Ramadan falling during the summer, daylight is again lasting way longer in Northern countries than in the birthplace of Islam. The Arabian Peninsula, with the abstaining time even increasing after the solstice on June 20th. Therefore, one of the main things to know about “Ramadan Up in The North,” fabulously illustrated in Huffington Post’s table below, is its really long days and really short nights for eating and praying leaving almost no time for…well, sleep.
Of course, this is not the only challenge that people who fast will face up here. Fasting in the North means pretty much feeling like those who do NOT fast in the Middle East. In other words, you feel like you’re in a parallel mood, physical shape, and spiritual world from the masses.
And in case you hadn’t already made the analogy with Game of Thrones’ “North,” here are a few things you’ll face when fasting up North that will make you feel closer to your Game of Throne heroes than ever…
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“But how do you do it?”
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“I’m sure I could do it…but the water? Like no way dude…”
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“Are you feeling okay? Maybe you shouldn’t be typing that fast like I wouldn’t want you to faint or anything…”
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“Would you like a gum? Surely that’s not considered food by the fasting authorities…”
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Because it’s summer and some people in “The North” think that any ray of sun, even if just for a few seconds, justifies going around half naked and drinking more than usual (so really a lot)”
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“Fatma, did I ever tell you that when I was about 12-years-old, I did that summer course thingy in this religious school up in Wales, and like, we would never eat meat on Fridays or anything…”
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“So you’re telling me you seriously did not have a sip of water just now in the bathroom?”
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“Yo bro, you know how investments are completely on hold and just bare frozen in the wait of the Brexit vote…is that how you feel when you fast?”
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“Big night tonight you should join mate! We’re all crashing Rebecca’s girls night out…don’t worry it’ll happen after sunset and all…”
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“Try that AMAZING gluten free banana CHEESECAKE with CHOCOLATE topping omg it’s to diiiie forrrr! Oh…sorry I compleeetely forgot!!!! Well I can pack a lil piece for you for later maybe?”
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And then when you go home after work but still have to wait until 21:20 to be able to eat
However, in London, one of the European cities most frequented by Arabs, with a Muslim mayor and big Muslim communities, there are a number of free events around London to come together for Iftar and Sohour or to meet Muslim communities and pray. Of course a good place for that is the London Central Mosque near Regents Park, but also most mosques around the city and beyond offer weekend Iftars and evening celebrations. In East London, in areas such as Barking, East Ham or others, you’ll also find more of a Ramadan spirit given the higher Muslim populations who live there.
And even as a non-Muslim, it is nice to go over there and witness how people of Muslim faith but from very different parts of the world would together during that time, even if they would all break the fast with completely different dishes and specialties. The notorious Edgware Road is also the place to be after sunset during Ramadan with bustling shisha places and Arabic restaurants.
It is to be noted that Eid is very big in London. A lot of people from the MENA region would fly over for the holiday and locals would go all out with their families filling Arabic restaurants and cafes, and jamming the streets with bling bling cars. International brands like Mango would offer Eid promotions when others would launch special products, like the very talked about Dolce & Gabbana abaya Collection or Marks and Spencers’ burkinis.
Overall though the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims represent a gigantic market that collectively has enormous consumer power, and if some are starting to exploit this market gap abroad, there is still room for much more here in The North, which would sometimes make you wanna go…
WE SAID THIS: Rabena ma3ako ya up North ento!