Mohammed Nosseir

By : Mohammed Nosseir

:: Enhancing their incomes has become the main concern of Egyptians, who tend to think of how and when they will be compensated prior to taking any action. As a result, business has become the main driving force of society. This does not only involve increased trading in goods and services; it has more to do with shaping a mindset that guides people’s behavior.

Sadly, the holy month of Ramadan, meant to be dedicated to spirituality and devotion, has become entrapped by this phenomenon, and is now the most commercialized month of the year.

To enable Muslims to spend more time on spiritual activities, the government reduces the number of work hours per day from eight to six during Ramadan. But productivity during this month drops substantially, not only because employees and workers are permitted to pray more and to read the Qur’an while on duty, but also because they tend to work less and spend more time socializing and napping to compensate for nights of lost sleep.

We use the fasting workday to run errands that are unrelated to our official duties, in order to be free during the non-fasting hours. Maximizing returns is Egyptians’ collective goal during Ramadan. The purpose of the holy month is to catch a glimpse of, and share in, the suffering of the poor, yet Egyptians tend to engage in substantially more activities (praying, eating, entertaining and socializing) than throughout the rest of the year.

Contrary to the very essence of Ramadan, people stretch the 24 hours of the day to follow Ramadan soap operas and organize social get-togethers over the iftar and sahoor meals. Egyptians’ tendency to participate in more religious and non-religious activities prompts many entities to promote their products and services during Ramadan.

Food consumption almost triples, the number of television drama series (the epitome of Ramadan entertainment) is multiplied (about 35 this year), and higher viewership encourages businesses to spend substantial portions of their advertising budgets. Even imams in mosques call for more worshippers, believing that extended prayers and loud speakers will make society more religious.

People are supposed to reduce their material needs and become more spiritual during Ramadan. Since this appears difficult to do, we simply maintain our material needs but dress them up in a coat of spirituality.

Mohammed Nosseir

During Ramadan, excessive activity manipulates Egyptians’ minds. We spend time discussing the nonsensical narratives of soap operas, which often highlight negative social aspects that are perhaps more appealing to our society.

The overload of television commercials does not hold viewers’ attention and ends up wasting advertisers’ money, overeating increases obesity and diabetes, and religious practices eventually revert to pre-Ramadan patterns.

We have become a less religious society, our happiness is diminishing, diseases are on the rise and work productivity is dropping, while food and entertainment businesses are growing substantially. This indicates that Egyptians are trapped by the commercialization of Ramadan. Rather than enhancing faith and spirituality, society immerses itself in various frenetic activities.

Egyptians confuse religion with culture. As a society, our lives are shaped by our culture, which impacts religion; but we tend to defend our behavior by claiming that we are complying with religious precepts, when in fact we are satisfying our cultural desires.

People are supposed to reduce their material needs and become more spiritual during Ramadan. Since this appears difficult to do, we simply maintain our material needs but dress them up in a coat of spirituality.

Mohammed Nosseir, a liberal politician from Egypt, is a strong advocate of political participation and economic freedom. He can be reached on Twitter @MohammedNosseir.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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