A story in this paper the other day picked upon the excessive waste of foods at Indian weddings, criticising the practice of disposing tonnes of foods at garbage sites in a country faced with food shortages and widespread chronic starvation faced by millions of poor Indians.
According to the report, leftover food from lavish banquets and parties has been thrown away that could have easily fed the entire populace of the shanty dwellers and the homeless in Mumbai. Obviously the tug of ‘keeping up with the Jones' has caught up with the psyche of the rising middle-class Indians.
But it's not simply India that is afflicted with this negative social syndrome. As Ramadan is just around the corner, let us pause for a moment and look around to see where our focus is as we prepare for this holy month. It is the period when one dwells in acts towards seeking mercy, forgiveness and redemption from eternal damnation.
But in the days and weeks leading to this month, there seems to have been a flurry of activities observed in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere that are not particularly related to the period when it is a time of spiritual and physical purification in the Muslim community, a time of patience and self-discipline.
Instead, observe the frenzy of activity in supermarkets and food outlets as customers busy themselves on stocking up all kinds of foods in anticipation of a food orgy that seems to have permeated our culture, with most of it eventually finding itself in municipal garbage dumps.
Fasting is also an opportunity to practice self-control and to cleanse the body and mind. And in this most sacred month, fasting helps Muslims feel the peace that comes from spiritual devotion as well as kinship with fellow believers. But if a Martian was to suddenly pop up here, he would not be faulted for assuming that this was a month of excess and gluttony.
What we do hear is an ever rising chorus of customer complaints that prices on fruits, vegetables and other kitchen consumables has shot up without any justifiable explanation. Price gouging by unscrupulous traders before the advent of the holy month designed to take advantage of those caught up in the food frenzy. So what is one to do who is indeed on a limited and fixed income?
There's enough advertised television serials of all kinds on TV or in magazines and newspapers, bound to ensnare the viewers away from their activities of faith and keep them up all night. While watching TV is not always a bad thing, the fervent call to grab viewers has been raised several notches, and while some of the offerings are of historical religious nature, most often are not. Commercialism and advertising revenues seem to have taken hold of their corporate sponsors, often in contradiction to the spirituality of this month.
Hotels and restaurants also have jumped on the bandwagon. A month dedicated to fasting and moderation seems anything but when confronted with the various advertised specialities on offer at the different eateries. The purpose of fasting is to remind Muslims as they go about hungry and thirsty of the sufferings of the poor.
Commercialism
Even food stores are progressively steering the public into this frenzy. A visit to your neighbourhood supermarket would reveal the rows and rows of groceries on daily specials, tempting the visitors to fill up their carts. And you would be disappointed to note what's offered on their attractive displays. Most of it is junk, loaded with sugars and fats that would undoubtedly leave you up in a comatose state following breakfast. And fear not, as customers are walking out with carts full of stuff that most likely will be half consumed and then thrown away.
Individually we can also be faulted as some of us are busily preparing our Ramadan party plans for iftar or suhour. Guest lists are being drawn in an early preparation, and banquets caterings are set for reservation. While the efforts to bring ourselves closer to one another are admirable, they are often overshadowed by talk of what glitters on the menu.
Commercialism by itself is not a crime. But when it begins to eclipse the true meaning of this holy month, then we should sit up and take notice. For it is only in one month of the year that Ramadan rolls around.
It was during Ramadan that the Quran — the holy book of Islam — was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Self-purification through fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is a month of introspection, a month of mercy, patience and self-discipline. And it is a time to refrain from unkindness and dishonesty.
Let us instead focus during this holy month on doing what is right and required. Let us do well with the less fortunate. Let those of us in a position of setting prices not gouge them. And above all, let us stand up to and correct our sins of the past, for this may be the only chance for some of us.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He was educated at the University of Denver. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
