Why more Arab Muslims are ignoring the Ramadan fast
State enforcement of the rules is becoming softer too
DOWNING WHISKY sours at sunset in the bars of Jordan’s capital, Amman. Puffing a cigarette in the rush-hour traffic in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Raunchy massages in Morocco’s Marrakech. Such are the goings-on in the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims are meant to abstain from food, drink and sex—from dawn to dusk. Some residents of the United Arab Emirates’ fleshpot of Dubai now mockingly dub the month Haramadan, after the Arabic word haram, meaning things that are forbidden.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The breakfast club”
Middle East & Africa April 30th 2022
From the April 30th 2022 edition
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