Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting began three days ago. There was heavy traffic everywhere on the first day which continues until now and I never made it to my appointment. Along a 5-kilometer stretch on the Fahaheel Expressway, there were three minor accidents which added to the already high volume bumper-to-bumper bottleneck.

During this month, your world undergoes a paradigm shift. Work schedules are altered, you feel hungry most of the time and night turns into day. Everyone is obliged to fast whether you’re Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Baha’i or atheist. Because eating, drinking, smoking and sex in public are strictly forbidden from dawn till dusk. Haram, in Arabic. Woe unto the poor guy who gets caught violating any of these earthly pleasures for he would be hauled off to jail. Okay, I stand corrected, for the last one is verboten, Ramadan or not.

Government offices only have six working hours officially. But try telling that to someone who needs renewing his residence, driver’s license or any other official-looking document for he will tell you he’d rather climb a wall with his bare hands. Why? Because hardly anybody works, that’s why. The whole bureaucracy comes dangerously close to a grinding halt.

Some offices in the private sector have shortened working hours as well but those that normally have broken timings (8-12AM & 4-8PM) retain the same schedule much to the chagrin of their employees who gain no extra free time during this month. People who work in the food service sector have their schedules turned upside down. Since all restaurants are closed during the day, they start their work at 5:00PM and finish at 1:00 or 2:00AM. A waiter friend complains that he literally has migraines during Ramadan since he can’t sleep during the day and by the time his circadian rhythm has adapted to it, it will be back to the normal sleeping time at night.

Malls are open way past midnight and at that late hour, the place looks like a carnival – aglow with lights and alive with people shopping or just hanging out. Cars crawl along the main streets like an unending, crazy convoy, adding an air of festivity.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which uses a lunar calendar. Meaning, each month begins with the sighting of the new moon and since the lunar calendar has a shorter duration than a solar calendar, this holiday sort of “moves” every year. Muslims around the world consider this a "month of blessing" marked by prayer, fasting, and charity. They believe that during the month of Ramadan, Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur'an, their holy book, way back in the fifth century.

Fasting, which is one of the Five Pillars (duties) of Islam is practiced for the entire month of Ramadan. People here may not eat or drink anything, including water, as long as the sun is up. Before daybreak, families get up early for suhoor, a meal eaten before the sun rises. The fast is broken, after the sun sets, with a meal known as iftar. Iftar usually begins with dates and sweet drinks that provide a quick energy boost. Fasting serves many religious as well as practical purposes. It reminds people about the suffering of the poor while they themselves are undergoing the pangs of hunger and thirst. It is also an opportunity to cleanse the body and mind. For those who have been procrastinating about dieting, now is the best time to start.

I used to wonder before why everyone had to submit to a forced abstinence. After all, Christians who fast during Lent don’t impose the same condition on one and all. If you want to fast, by all means do so but those who don’t want to – let them be. It’s a personal choice. Until I realized that religion in this part of the world governs the lives of people here. So you just have to respect their traditions, being a guest in the country.

A case of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Personally, I have no problem with that. I can always bring a sandwich with me to the office and enjoy it with a cup of coffee.

Now if only they can find a way to ease the traffic…..