A Dancer in Ramadan (Lessons from the Holy Month)
First, I studied in Egypt.
Then, I moved there to launch my career, develop myself as an Oriental Dancer, go deep into the ancient veins of Egypt, break my bones, and grow my wings. That´s when I fell in love with Ramadan, the main festivity in the Islamic calendar.
No, I´m not a Muslim.
Yes, I´m weary of organized Religions and aware of the gap between spirituality and institutions; although I respect the creed of every individual, for as long as that creed does not validate killing, division, dishonesty, and/or other types of crimes, I operate with a brain that still thinks, observes, and draws conclusions from reality.
I´ve studied the "Religions of the Book" - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - and I have good, well-informed reasons, to keep myself at a safety distance from them. For the majority, the rituals that every Religion imposes are not personal, or truly meaningful, but obligations someone decided they´d have to fulfill - in the case of most Muslims, since birth.
And, yet, I cannot help but fall into the spell.
I cannot help but to feel the truth in the places where, so often, we only find lies.
I´ve surrendered to the beauty of the "muezzin"´s voice calling followers to the mosque, a Friday morning prayer; Ramadan´s magic.
In Ramadan, Egypt is transformed as if occupied by an invisible force that lays a mantle of sugary clouds upon the back of every living being. Camels, flies, horses, dogs, humans, foxes, rats, and everything in between, calms down and gets warmer. In the heart.
The sepulchral silence just before "iftar" - the break of the fast - in the otherwise chaotic Cairo, as if the whole world was put on pause by a sacred hand; an older-than-life layer of dust in the air coming, I can only presume, from the desert and from the stillness that is inherent to Ramadan; the communal tables on the streets - tables where thousands will join, side by side, to break the fast - breaking barriers, hierarchies, differences, the arrogance of the rich and the subservience of the (desperately) poor; a window of time when people are particularly available to check-in, stare at their souls - face to face - and upgrade. If possible.
Experiencing Ramadan in Egypt is magical. I believe that, no matter the religion you profess, or even if you don´t profess a religion, spending Ramadan in Egypt should be mandatory for every human being.
As a non-Muslim, a foreigner; a Western woman who also happens to be a "Rakkasah" (Oriental Dancer, in Arabic), the crime of all crimes, I was free to enjoy Ramadan´s rituals and festivities from a neutral place, a royal balcony of some sort; as an active participant and an observer.
I must admit I fell in love with it.
In this audio blog post, I´m sharing a few wonders, or lessons, I learned from spending many Ramadans in the country of the Pyramids.
Listen. Enjoy. Celebrate tolerance, love, and peace with me. Today and always.
P.S: Ramadan Kareem to all my Muslim friends, colleagues, and students. I wish you a blessed time.
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