Reconstruction Vol. 10, No. 1, 2010




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Ramadan in Contemporary Cairo: Consumption in the name of Piety and Authenticity / Marjo Buitelaar & Nirvana Saad, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Groningen

 

Abstract

"This article examines the dynamics between modes of being modern and religious during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in Cairo. We specifically focus on the Al Hussein area, one of Cairo’s richest Islamic heritage sites that attracts large local and tourist crowds. We argue that in the context of a growing consumer culture in present day Egypt, sacred time, space and activities get intertwined with profane activities such as shopping, attending cultural performances, sitting at a café and other recreation activities. We specifically discuss how upper class citizens realize their pursuits for piety and authenticity through consumption patterns that allow modern lifestyles to merge with experiencing sacredness. While there are voices in Egyptian society that criticize this behaviour for fear that the trend causes the demise of religious values, we argue that from an anthropological point of view the trend can be interpreted as opening up new ways of being modern and religious in the public sphere simultaneously."

Key words: modernization, anthropology, religion, consumerism, authenticity, sacred, Ramadan, Al Hussein

Introduction

For Muslims, the fasting month Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year. During this month, people are encouraged to set material concerns aside and focus on pious acts. Every day during Ramadan, practicing Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual relations between dawn and dusk. They also try to avoid gossiping, quarrelling, consuming alcohol and other vices that go against the spirit of Islam. In addition, many believers strive to achieve a higher level of piety by abiding other obligatory acts of worship or ’ibadat, as well as by engaging in supplementary good acts, such as doing charity work and performing voluntarily prayers, particularly the taraweh prayers that are specific to Ramadan.

While going through the same change of daily patterns and religious activities creates a strong sense of unity of the global ummah or Muslim community, the way Ramadan is lived and perceived varies according to different socio-cultural contexts. Ramadan festivities in urban Morocco as described by Buitelaar (1993) differ from how the month is celebrated in certain circles in Java (Moller, 2005), and much of the Ramadan activities that we observed in Cairo are specific for certain categories of the Egyptian population.

Egyptians refer to Ramadan as shahr el-’ibada (month of worship), shahr el-karim (noble of distinguished month) and shahr el-mubarak (blessed month). It would, however, be incorrect to assume that because of this emphasis on the holy character of the fasting month, the sacred is necessarily separated from the profane. Particularly the leisure activities that people engage in pertain to both the sacred and the profane. Shorter working days, followed by evenings with jammed coffee houses, special television programs and festive social gatherings are part and parcel of Ramadan life (cf.Ibrahim 1982:34). In fact, Egyptian women who participated in a research on female leisure activities referred to Ramadan as the month for el-lama el-helwa (enjoyable social gatherings) and el-mot’ah (joy), and stated that the fasting month granted them more recreation opportunities than other months of the year (Saad, 2005).

Increasingly, in present day Egypt the festive communal spirit of the holy month is infused with the spirit of capitalism. This comes to the fore in an enormous leap in advertising, marketing and the consumption of food commodities. Indeed, Ramadan has come to adopt major features of modern festivity, a trend which Armbrust (2002) characterizes as the ‘Christmasization of Ramadan’. As can be observed throughout the world, Egypt’s fast integration in a globalizing economic system goes hand in hand with the revitalization and reinvention of local practices and markers of ethnic and national identity (cf. Zubaida 2004).[1]

This quest for authenticity becomes particularly intense during the fasting month. Ramadan appears to be the ‘ideal’ time for members of the ummah to ‘re-enchant’ their world through reviving what they perceive as original and genuine forms of their religious and cultural heritage. It has become commonplace for social scientists to ‘expose’such claims of authenticity on the basis of assembling and re-assembling elements from whatever the consumer market and culture industry has to offer as mere constructs.[2] Although we agree that any claim to cultural essence implies a construction, rather than tracing the process of authentication in this article we opt for another perspective. Following Lindholm (2002; 2008) who distinguishes between the genealogical or historical mode and the identity or correspondence mode for characterizing specific entities as authentic, we focus on how and why commodities and activities are experienced as pointing to what is cherished as authentic in a certain setting differently by different categories of people in society. Taking what Lindholm calls the ‘quest for a felt authentic grounding’ as a starting point for analysis, we are interested in the various techniques and resources that people have at their disposal to believe in what for them are undeniable facts and values (cf. Van de Port 2004). We will argue that for those who are thoroughly embedded in modern life styles, consumerism is a likely option to experience authenticity. Rather than dismissing the ‘folklorization’[1] and commercialization of Ramadan as merely a move away from ‘true’ religiosity, we propose that the consumption of ‘Islamic commodities’ (cf. Starrett 1995) can also be interpreted as a process of sacralization of modern life.

This becomes particularly evident in examining people’s behaviour at Al Hussein area in Old Cairo. This historic area does not only host some of Cairo’s most prominent sacred sites, but also some of the most popular traditional goods and services that are highly celebrated and consumed by Egyptians. In what follows, we will explore how popular Ramadan practices and spaces at Al Hussein area have come to acquire an interesting mix of global and local features that may give consumers from the higher echelons of Egyptian society a feel of what it ‘really’ is that makes one a modern Egyptian Muslim. We will argue that patterns of consumption that imitate or flirt with habits of the urban and rural poor allows for both identification with and distinction from lower class citizens who tend to be depicted in the media as ‘authentic’ albeit ‘ignorant’ and ‘uncivilized’Egyptians (Cf. Abu-Lughod 2005; Sonneveld 2009).


Modernization, social mobility and religion

According to Amin (2000) for many Egyptians, social mobility has been made possible by the spread of education, higher rates of inflation and emigration to oil-rich countries, all during a time of great contact with the West. In his view, the increase in social mobility has caused Egyptians to forget or ignore tradition as well as important national and ideological issues. In his book, Whatever Happened to Egyptians Amin presents how since the 1950s some traditions, like wedding ceremonies, are subject to changes due to increased social mobility. While we are also interested in how sacred spaces and rituals may become contested, renegotiated or reinvented as contexts change, we take a different approach than Amin and argue that modern life in a rapidly globalizing context has not necessarily made Egypt’s elite and new higher class forget their traditions but rather that change has been an incentive for them to give new forms or meanings to specific items or practices which they perceive as authentic.

Modernization is often understood to involve a radical rupture or at least a sweeping move away from past ways of thinking and behaving, and the instillation of rationalization and new understandings of time and space. Yet while modernization is a global phenomenon, it differs from one culture to the other. Knauft (2002) proposes that modernization should be understood on the basis of coherent examination between regional or global forces of progress and the specifics of local sensibility and responses. Such articulation Knauft (2002) adds, provides an ‘ethnographically concrete’ foundation to consider modern processes, such as the continuing development of capitalism, in relation to global culture and shared traditions. In the context of the Arab world, the modern and traditional are likely to be interconnected (Salamandra, 2004; Armbrust, 2001).[4] Arab constructs of modernization are accepted as legitimate only if they are continuations of the past (Armbrust, 2001) . Based on this line of argument, we explore how the consumer culture in contemporary Ramadan allows the union of modern lifestyle notions with notions of authenticity, stability and continuity.

What is evident in Egypt, particularly in Ramadan, is that people strive to connect cherished traditions with the modern. Their desire for the authentic may be infused with modern ideas or technologies. During Ramadan, for example, as a gesture of friendship, many Cairene spread messages of the Quran or traditional Arabic sayings over the internet and cellular phones. While modernization may be accommodated in religious activities, the opposite also takes place: as part of modernization projects, religion may be turned into a commodity. Religious objects, activities and sites may for example acquire monetary value as they are recast as ‘traditional’ or popular commodities that represent ethnicity of nationality.

Modernization not only influences people’s consumption patterns, it also has an impact on spatial organizations. To trigger specific consumer demands city officials in many global cities privilege the gaze of tourists and upper classes and make spatial amendments to match their demands (El Sheshtawy 2006). Several authors point out, for example, that part of the Egyptian government’s attempts to modernize the city entailed restructuring of the local landscape of Cairo. Late president Anwar Sadat in particular placed great emphasis on the visual image of Urban Cairo to help accelerate economic growth, promote private investment, attract foreign and Arab capital and enhance social development (Ikram 1980; Waterbury 1983). In an interesting study Caroline Williams (2006) argues that in the vicinity of historic sites in Cairo, entire neighbourhoods are cleansed of their poor populations and monuments are remade and renovated to attract investors and international tourists and their ‘1001 Nights’ visions of ‘Islamic Cairo’.[5]

As a result of the modernist project of the Egyptian state, many historic sites have become increasingly commodified to cater the global tourist economy on which Egypt heavily depends. This consumer culture is not put on hold at religious sites or during religious festivals. As a matter of fact, merging consumerism of sacred commodities with authentic experiences is intensified during the fasting month, particularly in the Al Hussein area, which is the main locus for our attention here.

In what follows, we will first provide an overview of the wide array of religious and profane goods and services offered at the area. We particularly focus on those activities that the Egyptian upper classes are attracted to. Though smaller in number than other class stratums, it is among this most powerful group in society that the largest potential for change is located. Studying the elite is therefore crucial to our understanding of how current power distribution in society is conceived and maintained (cf. Altorki 1988).

More concretely, we explore how the elite’s participation in religious activities and their consumption of ‘authentic’ religious or traditional goods temporarily undermines and, in some other instances, reaffirms social class distinctions. We will do so by examining congregational prayers at the mosque, charity projects and, finally, consumption of those commodities, which are presented and/or perceived by its consumers as ‘Islamic’ and ‘traditional’. After describing how many commodities have become modified to match modern tastes and preferences, we will explain how connotations associated with popular culture and other traditional or authentic things also shift as they are transformed and consumed by wealthy social groups.[6]


Al Hussein Area in Ramadan

For many inhabitants of Cairo, an important feature of experiencing the ‘authentic magic’ of Ramadan is visiting Al Hussein area in old Cairo quarter, which houses the renowned Sayyidna Al Hussein mosque,[7] Khan el-Khalili market[8] and some prominent cultural centers.[9] The area is also known for having the best popular cafes, or ahwas, and traditional restaurants that serve Egyptian food. As a matter of fact, the Hussein area is considered by many Egyptians and tourists alike as the Mecca for authentic recreation during Ramadan.

Taking the iftar, the meal with which to break the fast after sunset, is very popular at Al Hussein area. The place becomes overcrowded with people from all walks of life. Wealthy Egyptians and tourists who yearn for a taste of the past by breaking their fast within a historical ambiance flock the area. Restaurants around or in close proximity of the Hussein mosque prepare large amounts of traditional meals, desserts and drinks to cater for the large demand. These restaurants are usually named after historical or legendary prominent Arab figures such as the Egyptian noble prizewinner Naguib Mahfouz. To further fulfil the consumers’ taste for the authentic, many of these restaurants have classical music performed or played in the background. They also decorate their places with worn-out/black and white photos of classic Egyptian celebrities or public figures, ornament their walls with Islamic mosaic or calligraphy art and, finally, dress their waiters in national Egyptian costumes. In some of these restaurants Ramadan menus may reach up to LE 100 (approximately €14), a price only the wealthy or tourists can afford.

While poorer citizens cannot afford the high prices at these restaurants, they have the option of breaking their fast at the many mawaed rahman or ‘banquets of mercy’ hosted in Ramadan. These are free public eateries usually funded by rich individuals and commercial companies as part of their corporate social responsibility and publicity campaigns. Numerous mawaed rahman are held on the edges of the main Hussein square and in the alleys around the main mosque. The mawaed are usually organized and facilitated by a group of upper-middle class volunteers. Wealthy individuals may also fund a maidah by themselves. One is guided to these mawaed by the many streets signs erected saying Ramadan Kareem or Ramadan Mubarak (Wishes for a generous and bountiful Ramadan experience) followed by the name of the host and arrows pointing to the eateries’ location. It is also common to consult local residents who generously offer advice on the ‘best’ maidah where bountiful of food are being served. The volunteers greet their guests with smiles and hospitable gestures like ‘Ramadan Kareem, iftar shahy, ‘hearty iftar’ and tirelessly serve them drinks and food. After every one is served, the volunteers join their guests in a warm atmosphere of laughter, story-telling and overall socialization.

After finishing their iftar meal many people visit a nearby mosque, preferably the famous Hussein mosque, to conduct the ‘isha prayers and participate in the taraweh prayers, the voluntary Ramadan prayers during which long portions of the Qur´an are recited. The Hussein mosque attracts such immense numbers of people that sometimes large prayers mats are spread out outside the mosque to accommodate the large crowd. Inside the mosque people from all social classes stand shoulder to shoulder conducting the prayers.[10] Those dressed in trendy quality clothing and those in worn-out rags can be seen praying together as one body. During prayer breaks people sit together and engage in enjoyable conversations ranging from small talk to subjects pertaining to religious matters such as ‘proper prayer postures’, or serious worldly issues like career opportunities, education and anxieties of modern life.

Around the mosque, street vendors sell Islamic commodities like Qur´an and interpretations of the holy book or ahadith, either as hard copies or in CDs, prayer rugs, headscarves etc. At the mosque’s entrance/exit door for women, one finds street vendors selling women-only commodities like nail polish and other accessories. After the taraweh prayers come to an end, the Hussein area becomes even more crowded as people come and enjoy the various entertainment facilities offered in the area.

The mosque is located within close proximity of the Khan el-Khalili souk or market. The ancient souk is known for selling some of the country’s finest collection of Egyptian or oriental-style cloth, spices, souvenirs and ethnic jewellery, perfumes, belly-dancing costumes, oriental musical instruments and pharaonic-style souvenirs. For the occasion of the holy month, manufacturers have produced a wide variety of Ramadan lanterns.[11] Some allow customers to inscribe their name or make a love dedication. In the souk one can also find the highly demanded bokhor or incense,[12] sweet Ramadan pastries like basboussa, a semolina-based dessert drenched in syrup, katayef , mini pan-cakes stuffed with nuts or cream, and konafah, shredded dough filled with nuts or cream and drizzled with syrup,[13] etc. These commodities are usually over-priced and bargaining is crucial. Most of the sellers in the souk speak many foreign languages. They try to tempt tourists into buying their products by stating that their merchandise is 100% made in Egypt (versus Chinese products that have flocked the Egyptian souvenir market) and point to the historical or spiritual significance of their products.

Another popular past-time activity at Al Hussein is sitting and socializing at the many coffee shops. While waiters try to lure customers into these coffee shops by recommending them as ahawi baladi, traditional cafés, in fact these coffee houses stand in strong contrast to the traditional male-dominated sidewalk cafes for which Cairo is famous for. They also differ much from the upscale modern coffee shops[14] available in the affluent parts of the city. Like the traditional cafes, the coffee shops in the Al Hussain area serve shisha, or water pipe, tea with mint and other traditional drinks. However, prices of these goods and services are at least five times higher than the traditional cafes. They mainly attract gender-mixed tourists and upper-class Egyptians. The most famous café in the area is El-Fishawy. Noble prize winner Naguib Mahfouz is known to have written some of his books at this café. In fact, his famous novel Midaq Alley is set in an alley in Khan el-Khalili.

Attending shows, plays, concerts and exhibitions at several cultural centers close to Hussein area is another popular pastime during Ramadan. The Ministry of Culture organizes extensive oriental performances and exhibitions within these venues and post the entertainment schedule on their website. Ramadan is the only time of the year where performances run daily at these cultural centers. These venues are actually Islamic monuments restored and turned into cultural centers by the government. The most popular are Beit El Harawi, Beit el Soheimi, Kasr El Ghouri, Wikalet El Ghouri, and Prince Taz palace. In Beit El Harawi, for instance, popular cultural and classic performances are staged such as folklore dancing like the Tanoora,[15] Nubian music, and classical songs by Egyptian legendary artists like Abdel Halim Hafez.[16] Ticket prices at these culture centers vary considerably. They may be free of charge or range between LE 10 to LE 30 (€1.34 to €4), depending on the popularity of the artist(s) performing. Although the prices of these performances are reasonable and can be afforded by most Egyptians, they mainly attract upper-middle class Egyptians and tourists. People from lower classes do not feel comfortable in these surroundings and frown these new variations to performances, which they are accustomed to. When asked about her view on the performances, for example, a lower class sales woman selling Ramadan ornaments stated that a zar is something that everyone should be able to join in, rather than a show for an audience taking photographs.

While the activities described differ in terms of purpose, ranging from fulfilment of sacred duties to shopping, and in terms of spatial context, ranging from a sacred mosque to profane market or theatre, some key common characteristics can be noted. First of all, a ‘dedifferentiation of consumption’ takes place whereby consumption patterns related with different spheres are interconnected (cf. Bryman, 1999:33). The mosque, for example, is not only a place for sacred rituals but also a venue for socialization and the consumption of religious and non-religious commodities. The same applies to the overall spatial context of the Hussein area. It offers a wide array of possibilities such as prayers, charity, live entertainment, shopping, eating etc. These various spheres become ‘inextricably interwoven’ in experiencing the special Ramadan atmosphere (Bryman, 1999).

Also, all the activities that occur in Ramadan at Hussein area are performed collectively and publicly. Moreover, it is exactly their public and collective character that explains to a large extent exactly what makes them so popular. This goes not only for the congregational prayers at the mosque, but also for the organization and execution of charity projects and for overall recreational activities. Apparently, the patterns of public consumption in El Hussein area establish what Brubaker (2004) would call an act ‘groupness’ that creates feelings of commonality and connectedness of those who flock together to celebrate Ramadan.

Pious Pursuits and Social Class

“Ramadan beyheb elama” or “Ramadan loves get together”, “Sohbet Ramadan mafish zayaha” or “Nothing compares to Ramadan companionship”, “Ramadan ya’any Nas Metgama’en” or “Ramadan means people getting together” are all common expression among Egyptians in reference to the fasting month. As a matter of fact one key virtue that people strive to realize in Ramadan is the renewal and affirmation of personal social contacts and taking social responsibility towards fellow citizens, particularly those less privileged. Respondents of the higher classes whom we focus on in this article, complained that during other months of the year, they do not have the time to attend to these important matters.[17] Because of the holy character of the fasting month, and since working hours, school schedules as well as social expectations are adjusted during Ramadan to accommodate both more socializing and social work, people are more motivated and in a better position to live up to the ideal of restoring the original Islamic community founded by the Prophet Muhammed. This idealized ummah, which is believed to have been characterized by equality and solidarity among its members, thus becomes revitalized during Ramadan through increased prayers at the mosque, philanthropic projects and overall communal recreation predominant in Ramadan.

In some ways, then, social hierarchy is temporarily suspended and makes place for a strong bond between people regardless of social structure. “Communitas” as Turner (1969) calls the bonding that occurs when participants in a ritual undergo a “levelling process” whereby differences in social positions disappear and commonality is emphasized by collectively performing certain activities, can be observed in several of the activities in the El Hussein area. During taraweh congregation prayers at the mosque, for instance, people from all walks of life, stand side by side. A street vendor who sells prayer rugs and other commodities in front of the Hussein mosque summed this up beautifully by stating that at the mosque:

You see people coming to the mosque for taraweh in extravagant cars like Mercedes and BMWs and others in public transportation or even walking. Some people are dressed in the latest fashion outfits while others come in rags like myself (laughing). However all these differences do not matter once they are in the mosque. They all stand equal as Muslims praying to one God, Allah.

Suspension of the usual social class hierarchy also occurs at the mawaed rahman. Interestingly, what takes place here is not so much ritual levelling but rather ritual inversion. Participants of different social classes are not equalized there but instead members of the lower classes are temporarily waited upon by members of the higher classes. As described previously, at the mawaed the lower-class people for whom buying an iftar meal is beyond reach, are served by wealthy or upper-class volunteers. At one maidah, for instance, a woman who earns her living by cleaning a residential building in an elite neighbourhood in Cairo where her husband works as a caretaker, happened to be served by a teenage volunteer who rents an apartment in the same building. Throughout the year this woman keeps the building of this teenage volunteer tidy and runs errands for him. At the maidah, on the contrary, the rich youngster was the one serving while the caretaker’s wife remained seated. It goes without saying that this kind of role reversal is surrounded by ambivalences and creates awkward feelings on both sides. The deference of the lower-class guests at the maidah, who continuously and graciously thank the volunteers and loudly prayed for their good health and fortune illustrate that they remain consciously aware of their inferior social standard.

It is therefore correct to say that through the increased participation in communal prayers and philanthropy, social class hierarchy is to some extent temporarily suspended during Ramadan. Spatial segregation between classes declines and social cohesion is re-affirmed through social and pious acts in which class differences are neglected, as in the collective prayers, or denied, as in the mawaed organized for the poor by the rich. However developing a pious self during the fasting month is not restricted to these collectively organized activities but also includes consumption of so-called Islamic commodities, which may in fact re-affirm social class distinctions.[18]

Piety and Consumption of 'Islamic' Commodities

Demand for products related to Islamic rituals or symbols rises considerably during the fasting month. Such products range from prayer mats, prayer beads, headscarves, skullcaps, bumper stickers, key chains and framed Quranic verses (Starrett, 1995). One may find these are products among people of all social classes. Other products are more closely related to the middle and upper classes, such as online e-cards or text messages with Islamic/Ramadan themes; gifts like the doll named Hind that congratulates Muslims on the arrival of Ramadan or Barbie’s look-alike Fulla[19] who wears a headscarf, a long gown, and comes with her own prayer rug. Furthermore, one can buy cell phones that point the faithful toward Mecca, and nail polish that can be easily chipped off a few seconds before the woman attends to her ablutions and prayers.

The quality of these commodities vary considerably and so do their prices. While some local-made products are sold cheaply by street vendors in al-Hussein, shops at Khan el-khalili carry imported products of high quality, which are very expensive in comparison. While people who are well-off can afford fancy-looking and extravagant items, those from lower-classes can only purchase cheap and shabby-looking ones. Although all these products are purchased to express or enhance piety, they may thus also serve as a marker of social elevation and re-affirm class distinctions between members of the ummah. Not surprisingly, the consumption of 'Islamic commodities' is highly contested in Egyptian society.

This type of consumerism is endorsed by the new da‘wa type Islamic preachings of a generation of young, mostly self-educated preachers such as Amr Khaled.[20] These mostly beardless preachers who tend to wear business suits see no reason why din wa dunya, or “religion and worldly life” cannot be reconciled (Abdel Rahman, 2006). Worldly life in this perspective refers to modern society and capitalism, and not to the antiquated and idealized style of the early Muslim community, as represented by more traditional preachers. These new preachers tell their mostly young adult audiences that it is okay to have fun, pursue business careers and enjoy earthly matters as long as one combines it with a pious life and taking responsibility for more vulnerable groups in society. While the consumerist life styles of the elite and higher middle class were formerly widely associated with non-believers or at least non-practicing Muslims (cf. Abdel Rahman, 2004), the message of Amr Khaled and preachers like him is that one can be both modern and an observant Muslim, which opens the way for a commodification of religion as Starrett (1995) has pointed out. There is, however, also another side to this development: what we perceive in the El Hussein area during Ramadan is not only a commodification of religion, but also a sacralization of consumption. For those who are thoroughly embedded in modern consumerist life styles, the religious consumption patterns described here may not be authentic in the sense of being historically original of any kind, but they are authentic in the sense of allowing people to get in touch with the spirit of Ramadan and actually experience religiosity.

However, this trend of consumption of “Islamic commodities” does not go about without criticism among other groups in society. In an interview with one of the authors of this article, Dr. Abdel Baset, an Azhar University trained theologian described this trend as a form of moda or “fashion” that bespeaks a lack of understanding of the Islamic discourse. Dr. Abdel Baset blamed secularization (’almana or ’almaniyya) and westernization for reducing Islamic knowledge to customs; regardless of the wisdom or logic behind these religious traditions and how they relate to worldly challenges and practicalities. In her research on the mosque movement in Egypt, Mahmood (2003) noted that some of the preachers took it upon themselves to counter that secular trend that they, too, believe has undermined the status of religious traditions to mere conventions or an “Islamic folklore”. While the mosque preachers whom she studied did propagate material attributes such as modest dress and the headscarf, they focused more closely on what Mahmood calls the “habitualization” of piety; that is, engaging in bodily practices such as religious rituals as exercises in ethical self-making. Such religious exercises shape the self and create the desire to construct a pious self through religious practice. Although religious consumption is not altogether absent in this particular kind of quest for authentic grounding as a Muslim,[21] and while those who practice it may be equally found in the El Hussein mosque during Ramadan, these self-techniques are more geared to the means and experiences of those who have less to spend than members of the higher classes in Egyptian society. For different parts of the Cairo population then, the Ramadan festivities in the El Hussein area constitute an act of religious “groupness” while simultaneously expressing differences between various categories of fellow citizens.

Authenticity and Consumption of Traditions

Folklorization is not only restricted to consumption and display of “Islamic commodities” but also ethnic or traditional ones. In line with the argument of Navaro-Yashin (2002) about identities in the global world being produced to a large extent within the consumer culture, the similarities and differences within the experience of “groupness” do not only include religious self-perceptions, but ethnic and national ones as well.

Not only religious taste preferences among the upper-middle classes change during Ramadan, but the desire for traditional and popular commodities and experiences also increases considerably. The demand for products that are normally largely associated with economically marginalized groups increases substantially among the affluent upper-middle classes and the upwardly aspiring middle classes. These products include the consumption of ethnic dress-styles/appearance, popular food dishes and, finally, experience of popular art forms. Interestingly, these products originally consumed by the lower-classes are re-fashioned in a stylish manner and are of higher quality and expensive materials to match modern tastes.

At the Khan el-Khalili market one can observe well-to-do Egyptians purchasing trendy and high-expense galabeyyas, the loose, flowing gowns, which are usually associated with the urban popular classes and the peasants. Waiters in the various high-expense cafes and restaurants in the el Hussein area are also dress in galabeyyas. Their finely-made and expensive garments stand in stark contrast to the worn-out and cheap ones worn by peasants. The galabeyya has come to signify contradicting values. While during the modernization approach of the late President Nasser’s in the 1950s the galabeyya was associated as a sign of ignorance and backwardness, since then, in Egyptian films and TV dramas the garments have also come to stand for the basic and unspoiled Egyptian way of life (cf. Abaza 2007; Abu-Lughod 2005; Sonneveld 2009). In Ramadan these galabeyyas have come to symbolize a celebration of the authentic Egyptian identity. Thus, through commercialized dress codes, religious identity and national or ethnic identity merge; while partly mocking the backwardness of lower class citizens, the stylish, high quality galabeyyas also model the affluent as hybrid beings, who are modern, religious, and Egyptian all at the same time.[22] Again, the simultaneous experience of identification and differentiation allows for feelings of an authentic self.

A similar mechanism explains people’s preferences to hang out at the ahwa baladi during Ramadan nights. Upper class Egyptians usually shun away from the traditional ahwa, which have increasingly negative connotations to them. The expression “sitting in an ahwa” is synonymous with having nothing to do and wasting one’s time. In Ramadan, however, ahwas take on a different symbolic form and come to stand for an authentic more relaxed way of life than what one is accustomed to in present day hectic Egypt. While throughout the year the many ahwas in Hussein area are mainly flocked with tourists, in Ramadan they become major attractions for well-to-do Egyptians as well. Even though these ahwas take the appearance of the traditional ahwas found in sha’abi or working-class areas in Cairo, in terms of decorations and products offered (shisha or water-pipe, tawla or backgammon and traditional drinks) the services and the prices of consumptions are much higher. For example, a cleanly washed cup of tea boiled with mineral water at the ahwa in Hussein area during Ramadan can reach up to LE 10 while those in Sha’abi areas cost approximately LE 0.50.

Also, the demand for popular street food commodities like ful (made of beans and is known to be the basic diet of the poor in Egypt), ta’miyya (also called falafel, a dish made of mashed chick-peas and spices fried in a patty) and koshari (composed of rice, lentils and macaroni and seasoned with spicy sauces and fried onions) increases drastically among the affluent during Ramadan. Normally, these types of popular food constitute “a taste of necessity” (cf. Bourdieu, 1979), in the sense that these are cheap and nourishing foodstuffs that ensure the reproduction of labor activities at the lowest possible cost. However, in Ramadan, these popular foods take on new features. They actually become “tastes of luxury” made of high-quality ingredients, and are sold at high-expense restaurants that are only accessible to those who possess enough capital.

Another quest for authentic consumption is the attendance of popular art performances at the cultural centers in Hussein area. Popular culture often contrasts with a more exclusive, even elitist “high culture”; that is, the culture of ruling social groups. Some of these performances like the zar (practice performed to exorcise jinns), for example, are commonly ridiculed as superstitious acts of the ignorant. In line with Eco (1987) and Fowler (1992) who note that the selective depiction of historic events and traditions are amended to match the desires of tourists and the elite consumer market population, popular cultural practices have become main attractions for Egyptian elites and tourists alike (cf. Abaza, 2006).

Several key points can be derived in this section. Ethnic and popular culture forms and commodities have become folklorized within a modern context. This trend is particularly emphasized during the fasting month where those commodities commonly termed or associated with baladi (literally “country” or “local” as opposed to “foreign,” more broadly refers to traditional urban practices and people, it also mean “popular”) or bi´a (literally means “environment,” a negative term used of late by middle and upper classes to refer to the bad taste of lower classes, to replace baladi, but used in a pejorative way) or sha‘abi (“popular”; mainly referred to the poor and commoner section of the city) become highly aspired by Muslim elites.

Interestingly these baladi or bi´a or sha‘abi commodities or popular art or leisure forms are commonly associated with negative connotations such as bad-taste, ignorance, idleness. However, in the process of folklorization or consumption of these low-culture forms, those negative traits are removed to allow the well-to-do to identify with them and thus to increase their marketability. In such reshaped art performances, souvenirs or food delicacies, the focus is directed on the glory of the past and values such as purity, creativity and originality are evoked. In this way, partly in mock, partly in earnest, consumers of these products or performances can identify with fellow citizens from less rich categories in Egyptian society, and simultaneously distinguish themselves from them. It creates a comfortable sense of unity while acknowledging differences and allowing distance.

Through this kind of consumerism, commodities are transformed into high quality and high price products to appeal to modern tastes, and they thus become part of a cosmopolitan high-culture. Some of these cosmopolitan traits include the production of traditional dishes with low-fat ingredients and adjusting the traditionally loose gallabiya into a tighter, slimmer and more sexually attraction version for women. Also, the Ramadan fanous or lantern that was formerly lit by a candle to accompany children as they passed through alleys to sing Ramadan songs, is now equipped with a light bulb and loudspeaker that produces modern pops songs.

The cosmopolitan touch that is added to products associated with local religious and other cultural practices involves a redefinition of Islamic and Egyptian identity in such a way that it is attuned to the experiences and modern lifestyle of Cairo’s higher class citizens.[23] Mixing elements from local traditions with modern tastes matches the everyday life world of the consumers of these products, and corresponds with their modern life styles in which consumption has become a self-technique to express and construct an authentic self. The consumption of modified religious and other local products may therefore not refer to historical authenticity, but it does fulfil the quest for an authentic grounding as modern, religious Egyptians. In the process, not only are religious products commodified, but in line with what is considered the spirit of Ramadan, every day life becomes sacralized.

Conclusion

Several key issues can be concluded from this study when examining the interrelationship between modernity and religious or ethnic authenticity. The consumption culture in modern society has caused a blurring of boundaries between religion, traditions, recreation and low and high culture. This consumer culture has enhanced the presence or visibility of religion within the public sphere. The new, trendy Islamic and ethnic commodities appeal to many Egyptians, particularly those affiliated with upper-middle classes. This new discourse is attractive to them since it allows them to practice their religion without giving up the pleasures of modern life. According to the less well-to-do, this type of consumption is believed to have undermined religiosity and reduces it to merely a custom or symbol rather than being based on a thorough understanding of Islam’s values. From an anthropological point of view, however, it can be argued that for people who are thoroughly embedded in modern life styles, consumption has become an important self-technique to construct and experience a religious self. It is through the revitalization of what they experience as authentic traditions and the consumption of restyled religious and ethnic commodities that they can attain piety and relate to other categories of Egyptian citizens. The consumption patterns of the elite during Ramadan as described here may not be authentic in the sense of being historically original of any kind, but they are authentic in the sense of allowing people to get in touch with the spirit of Ramadan and actually experience religiosity. One obvious explanation for the fact why the commercialization and folklorization of Ramadan is criticized by other categories of Egyptians is that to them, unity is not attained but threatened by these trends: such patterns of consumption are not available to them. They are painfully aware that the lifestyle of the well-to-do is unattainable to them and enhances new differential markers of social class rather than accentuating the spirit of a unifying umma during Ramadan.

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Notes

[1]  Various ethnographic studies have demonstrated that the flow of information, capital and labour between different places in the world has not created one unified culture (cf. Appadurai 1996; Featherstone 1995). Instead, global practices and processes get intermingled with the local cultural context (cf. Hall 1991; Ghannam 2002). Studying how people become modern thus entails an examination on the interconnection between global forces and the specifics of local sensibilities, initiatives and responses (cf. Knauft 2002). [^]

[2]  According to Goulding (2000), for example, in post-modern society, the authentic is non-existent and those who seek it must look elsewhere. One way to escape from the anxieties of modern life is the experience of the past, packaged and sold as authentic. [^]

[3]  Folklorization is a term introduced by Sami Zubaida (1989) and then later used extensively by Abaza (2006) and Mahmood (2003) to exemplify how certain traditions in the Islamic world have come to acquire the status of customs. [^]

[4]  President Sadat addressed Egypt’s relationship of the past to the present in The October Working Paper of 1974, a declaration outlining the philosophical basis of his ‘Corrective Revolution’. In his view, ‘The real challenge confronting peoples with deep-rooted origins who are facing the problem of civilization progress is precisely how to renovate their civilization. They should not reject the past in the name of the present and should not renounce the modern in the name of the past, but they should take of the new without losing sight of their origins.’ Quoted in Raymond W. Baker, Egypt’s Uncertain Revolution Under Nasser and Sadat (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978), p.47. [^]

[5]  Also, see Ghannam 2002. [^]

[6]  The data on which this article is based was collected through participant observation during three consecutive Ramadan months in Cairo in 2006, 2007 and 2008. As part of this fieldwork, some formal but mostly informal interviews were conducted with Egyptians from various social stratums. These included volunteers at charity projects, shopkeepers, restaurant employees and members of the general public who were present at the various sacred and profane venues available at Al Hussein. Additional references to Ramadan in newspapers, television, and internet websites were analysed and photographs were taken of the various sites and activities going on Al Hussein. [^]

[7]  The Hussein Mosque was built in the Fatimid period in the year 1154 and modified in the year 1236. The mosque is named after Al Hussein, the son of Aly Ibn Aby Taleb, the fourth Khalifa (Deputy of the Prophet Mohamed). It was totally renewed during the reign of Khedive Ismail in the beginning of the 20th century. [^]

[8]  The souk dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a large caravanserai (khan in Arabic) in Cairo under the Burji Mamluk Sultan Barquq; the eponymous khan is still extant. By the time of Barquq, the first Circassian Mamluk Sultan (1382- 1399 A.D.) a lot of reconstruction needed to be done within the walls of the city in order to repair the damages incurred as a result of the plague. In 1384 A.D., when Barquq began his madrassa in Bayn el-Qasrayn, markets were rebuilt, and Khan el-Khalili was established. [^]

[9]  The Egyptian Ministry of Culture-Intellectual Development Division organizes extensive oriental performances, particularly in Ramadan within the following venues: Beit El Harawi, Beit el Soheimi, Kasr El Ghouri, Wikalet El Ghouri, Prince Taz palace, etc. The Ramadan schedule of events are posted by the ministry’s official. [^]

[10]  It is recommended in Sunan Abu Dawud hadith (2:0682) for believers conducting congregation prayers to stand shoulder to shoulder. In another hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud (1:666), it is believed that the Prophet advised Muslims praying in groups not to leave gaps in between so as not to allow the devil to intrude. [^]

[11]  Apparently, ‘El-Fanous’ , as the Ramadan lanterns are called, is actually an old Greek word given to any lamination device (Abdel Aziz 1987). In Ramadan of the year 362 (Hegira) El-Moez El-Din Allah the Fatimad Caliphate came from Morocco to Egypt. According to Abdel Aziz, the Egyptians celebrated his arrival to their country by holding the colored Fanous as a welcoming gesture and to light his way. The story has it that from that date on the lantern came to be connected to Ramadan. Children during that time also preferred to carry the lanterns in the streets to warn passers-by of the presence of a woman, so as to make way for her. From this fact, the lantern came to be mostly associated with children. [^]

[12]  According to a street vendor, recommending his bokhor burning incense is an old tradition for Egyptians, and the smell of the incense is believed to dispel evil spirits and envious looks and to bring good luck. [^]

[13]  Abdel Aziz (1987) states that the katayef and konafah desserts originated in the Sham region (Lebanon, Palestine, Syria etc.) during the reign of Maaweyah Ibn Aby Sofyan. Aby Sofyan, Waly or ruler of the Sham region during the Caliphate of Uthman ibn Afan, was a great fan of the Konafah and he used to eat it during Sohour to keep his energy levels high during fasting. Since Maaweyah was known for being fond of food and found it sometimes hard fasting during Ramadan, his doctor recommended the Konafah for him (ibid). It has also been known that the Konafah has been made for Caliph Suliman Ibn Abd El Malek. As for the Katayek, Abdel Aziz (1987) notes that it can be traced back to the Mamluks and Turkish dynasty. To support his argument, the author states that there is a large collection of poetry during these eras, where both the Konafah and Katayek were mentioned. [^]

[14]  These upscale coffee shops started appearing in Cairo in the 1990s and have become main leisure venues for affluent Egyptians. They mainly serve Western or International types of meals and drinks like cappuccino and tiramisu. See de Koning, Anouk (2006). Café Latte and Caesar Salad: Cosmopolitan Belonging in Cairo’s Coffee Shops. Cairo Cosmopolitan: Politics, Culture, and Urban Space in the New Globalized Middle East. Pp221-233 [^]

[15]  A dance is usually referred to as the whirling dervishes dance, though technically not. The Tanoora is a large costume that looks like a skirt, that the dancers wear around their waist. The dancers then whirl in circles. [^]

[16]  This house was built in 1731 during the Ottoman era. This house is one of the few that remained in good shape over the years because it was restored several times by the French ‘Comite de Conservation’ between 1920 and 1950. http://touregypt.net/featurestories/harrawi.htm. [^]

[17]  Cf. Linder (1970), who discusses the notion of perceived time scarcity and the acceleration of the pace of life in modern societies, in relation to increased consumption. [^]

[18]  Abdel Rahman (2006) notes that while these products are presented as ‘Islamic’, their production and promotion are not predominately related to Islam. Some of these commodities are produced in non-Muslim countries and do not abide with fair-trade or ethical guidelines. [^]

[19]  The creators of Fulla, NewBoy Design Studio in Damascus, Syria, announced that the doll represents ‘Arab and Islamic values such as modesty, respect and piety’ (al Jadda, 2005). [^]

[20]  For an analysis of Amr Khaled’s preaching and success, see Bayat 2002. [^]

[21]  For example, in the form of visiting mosques with highly valued preachers and listening to tapes with sermons and Koran recital, cf. Hirschkind (2001). [^]

[22]  Cf. Kapchan 1996,p. 174, who builds up a similar argument to explain the eclectic bridal repertoire of Moroccan brides. [^]

[23]  Cf. van Wichelen, (2008), who builds a similar argument for the elite in Java, Indonesia, and Kapchan (1996) for bridal festivities in Morocco.[^]




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