Cairo Magazine - Two Ramadans

Tara Todras-Whitehill

The Devout Artist: Fekhri Haggag

At 62, artist Fekhri Haggag has seen the month of Ramadan make two complete cycles through the solar year. For him, Ramadan is deeply complex; Haggag is a devout man in a creative profession and this confluence of ideologies has helped him see beyond the plastic lanterns and qatayyif pastries.

“Ramadan is not about symbols,” he says. “It’s about commandments from God. This inspires people to make something special out of the month. Egyptians especially know how to join religion and happiness. For us, Ramadan is an opportunity to visit together, pray together, fast together. We make Ramadan a chance to do what is best for ourselves and for others.” Having lived most of his life in shaabi districts of Cairo, including Imbaba and Tora, Haggag has witnessed a Ramadan that is much more public than that seen by residents of middle- and upper-class districts.

“In shaabi places, they put out colored flags and lanterns and lights—if an alley is narrow enough, neighbors string lights between their buildings. The whole place is lit from sunset until dawn, so children can play together in the streets. You see a happy alley, an alley that is a real community.”

For Haggag, Ramadan is also about history. “It’s a chance for people to remember their roots,” he says. “Everyone has good conversations about old times. Learning from the early Muslims pushes people to do better in their own lives. It’s very good for children to hear these discussions. Ramadan is like a needle and thread, making a cloth from ancient times right down to the present day. It makes people stand on the stable ground of their ideals and history, and gives them a special understanding of being alive.” Haggag believes that this Ramadan spirit has been hampered by television. “Before TV, families would gather at night and just talk,” he says. “And the small kids would listen. It w

as 30 days of night festival. Prayer was more important, and Ramadan was a good time for children to learn how to pray, because the adults were praying together. Now many people just gather around the television to watch the special Ramadan shows. So much new television is aired during this single month! I don’t feel it’s a good thing.”

Despite the encroachment of modern entertainment, the holy month remains spiritually central for Haggag. He speaks of it with great emotion. “We live in a dark time. Ramadan helps us remember a better past. It helps us have one aim for one world. God creates humans to do their best. As the Quran says, ‘God doesn’t change those who don’t change themselves.’”

The Mother: Omeima Nureddin

Omeima Nureddin is a working mother with a young son. As a woman and wife, she is responsible for bringing the holy month to life for her family. Every day, while fasting, she cooks the iftar meal. “Sometimes I feel exhausted because of the Ramadan schedule,” she says. “But I’m an organized person, and I like inviting people to share meals during Ramadan. So it usually doesn’t bother me. I cook a lot of dishes ahead of time, especially those that can be preserved or frozen.”

For a fasting woman who cannot sample what she is cooking, the prospect of producing such nightly banquets can be daunting. But Nureddin has had a lot of practice. “I learned to cook from my mother,” she says. “She taught me how to make different Ramadan dishes. I started helping her in the kitchen when I was very young. Ramadan was the only time of year when she would prepare homemade sweets, so as a child I loved to be with her in the kitchen during this month.”

For Nureddin, Ramadan is also a time to focus on her personal relationship with God. “I enjoy praying with my family during Ramadan,” she says. “I’m more disciplined about reading the Quran and keeping the prayer times. I try to be calm and tolerant. As an adult, the essence of Ramadan is really a part of me in a way that it wasn’t when I was a child.” In this spirit, she is teaching her son to fast. “Islam tells us that a child should begin to fast at age 7,” she claims. “My son is six now, and he wants to fast—for him, it’s a symbol of being mature. I want him to start gradually, so this year I give him a small breakfast and then milk and water during the day, and he eats iftar with us at sunset. It’s hard for him, of course, but he refuses to take food during the day. He has begun to ask me questions about the month of Ramadan because he’s becoming curious about his religion and he wants to learn.”

Seeing her son playing outside with his friends after iftar gives Nureddin hope for the next generation of Muslims. “I watch him play with his fanus [Ramadan lantern] with his friends, and it reminds me of my own childhood,” she says. “He has the same happiness, the same spirit. It makes me glad because I know he will grow up to appreciate this month.” It’s a month that’s vitally important to Nureddin. “We all have devils inside, as well as angels,” she says, “In Ramadan, we cast the devils down.”