RIYADH, the drab Saudi capital, looks uncharacteristically festive. The endless sprawl of ugly concrete buildings with light-reflecting glass is decked out in fairy lights and brightly coloured material. This is, after all, Ramadan in the country where the strictest form of Sunni Islam prevails.
But the Islamic month for fasting, reflection and celebration is also far more austere here than anywhere else. In most places going without food and drink from sunrise to sunset is a matter of personal conscience, and no laws enforce its observance. Not so in Saudi Arabia, where the Koran is considered a constitutional document.
Restaurants and cafés are forced to shut their doors until iftar, the daily breaking of the fast at sunset. The lobby of Al Faisaliah, a posh hotel in Riyadh, is usually bustling with meetings over coffee; now it is deathly quiet. Anyone caught drinking or eating in public is punished; foreigners lose their jobs and are deported.
Most Saudis are religious, and appear to revel in the holy month. “It’s not hard to fast because I love Ramadan,” says a female bank clerk. “Fasting is...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1OeBsjg
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