Interesting piece from Arab News. Saudis observing Ramadan outside of Saudi Arabia find that their compatriots at home have a tendency to use the excuse of fasting to cover for laziness. These observers note that Muslims outside Saudi Arabia—particularly th ose working in the West—seem to manage regular office hours and normal workloads, while those back home lack self-discipline.
‘Fasting no excuse for inefficiency’ –
Students abroad criticize their peers for slackness
Hassna’a A. Mokhtar I Arab NewsJEDDAH: Saudi students abroad miss the Ramadan atmosphere of Saudi Arabia, their families and Arabic food. Being in a foreign country they have realized that it is unacceptable to be inefficient during the holy month.
“After being exposed to the outside world and its pace of living, I can’t really excuse the Kingdom’s inefficiency during Ramadan,” said Ghada Mohammed, a 25-year-old Saudi student in London.
She said that prior to talking to Arab News she was at the Saudi Cultural Bureau and that Saudi and Arab employers were working professionally and competently. “My adviser there, for example, left the office at 7 p.m. keeping in mind that Maghreb prayer is at 7.48 p.m. I think it’s all about the people you’re surrounded with. If they’re lazy, you will act lazy by default,” she added.
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September:11:2008 - 19:23
but even here in amerika as well as in europe i saw many saudi students using ramadhan as an excuse 2 becum lazy and sleep all day—and one has 2 keep in mind that in saudi and most of da arabian countries, its very hot outside, and fasting periods r longer than in western countries where da climate is very favorable, and days r shorter—not 2 mention da religious stress levels also an ignored factor, very high in saudi and most arab/muslim countries while in west its very liberal,straightforward and easy. Thats y fasting in a muslim country, particularly a religious arab country such as saudi is seen psychologically as a big chore compared 2 when u fast in a non-muslim country—thats a fact.