After living in a predominantly Islamic country for two years, you'd think anything "Islam" wouldn't surprise you anymore. Yeah right.
It's currently the Ramadhan month so all the Muslims (is it Muslim or Moslem?) fast roughly before sunrise up until after sunset. Here in Malaysia, they do what you call "buka puasa" or "breaking of the fast" every 7:20 PM. Meaning, they all can start eating again. A lot of people go to the malls during this time so that they can do the buka puasa together with their family and friends. Doesn't matter if what they eat is special or not, just as long as you're with someone to break the fast with.
I was at the mall today around 7:00 PM at Putrajaya, the country's administrative capital, and considered to be a Muslim district. Naturally, the mall was packed with people since it was a Sunday and the breaking of the fast was about to begin. What surprised me though, was not how every single table in ALL the restaurants and even the food court was full. It was that everybody already had food on the table! There they all were: families, couples, kids running around with their tables filled with food and drinks but all were left untouched. Trust me, it's a very strange scene.
My friend and I decided to eat at the food court since it was impossible to get a table at any restaurant. The ceiling is high so we had this wonderful view of hundreds of people seated just waiting until the time when they can break the fast. Clock ticks. It's 7:20 PM. We hear Islamic prayers from the dozens of plasma screens hoisted around the area. A few seconds of silence from the hungry crowd, then boom, everybody starts eating. Buka puasa.
I've known ever since my first Ramadhan that it was like that. But it was the first time I ever saw the moment they all broke the fast and with such a big crowd too. The whole concept of breaking the fast was simply amplified. Coolness. Culture metre just went up a notch.
It's currently the Ramadhan month so all the Muslims (is it Muslim or Moslem?) fast roughly before sunrise up until after sunset. Here in Malaysia, they do what you call "buka puasa" or "breaking of the fast" every 7:20 PM. Meaning, they all can start eating again. A lot of people go to the malls during this time so that they can do the buka puasa together with their family and friends. Doesn't matter if what they eat is special or not, just as long as you're with someone to break the fast with.
I was at the mall today around 7:00 PM at Putrajaya, the country's administrative capital, and considered to be a Muslim district. Naturally, the mall was packed with people since it was a Sunday and the breaking of the fast was about to begin. What surprised me though, was not how every single table in ALL the restaurants and even the food court was full. It was that everybody already had food on the table! There they all were: families, couples, kids running around with their tables filled with food and drinks but all were left untouched. Trust me, it's a very strange scene.
My friend and I decided to eat at the food court since it was impossible to get a table at any restaurant. The ceiling is high so we had this wonderful view of hundreds of people seated just waiting until the time when they can break the fast. Clock ticks. It's 7:20 PM. We hear Islamic prayers from the dozens of plasma screens hoisted around the area. A few seconds of silence from the hungry crowd, then boom, everybody starts eating. Buka puasa.
I've known ever since my first Ramadhan that it was like that. But it was the first time I ever saw the moment they all broke the fast and with such a big crowd too. The whole concept of breaking the fast was simply amplified. Coolness. Culture metre just went up a notch.
4 comments:
Nice, that would've been a beautiful photo moment.
:-)
ben, thank you for sharing about Ramadhan.
CRISSY:
I know! I think I got a little bit too accustomed to using a digicam that I forgot that my phone had a camera. Oh well.
MARY ANNE:
You're welcome :)
I wonder if they did the same in Saudi.
I should have been more adventurous when I was there and observed them. Also, the malls were only for families at night so I always stayed home.
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