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Ramadan: a Marvelous Song of Survival |
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Sommaia El Shami - AljazeeraTalk - Cairo
 The smell of blood and corruption dominates: the blood of the poor laborers in the Red Sea, the blood of detainees in prisons, the blood of demonstrators in the streets… The hope of a better political atmosphere withers with the confinement of the role of judges in elections and the probability of Gamal's succession. The economic crisis deteriorates with the deterioration in national industry and the increase in unemployment and the Egyptian identity is threatened by the domination of American media and culture. In the face of all these catastrophes stands a marvelous song of survival: Ramadan.
 In Egypt, Ramadan's spiritual revival bestows life on the beautiful Egyptian way of life. In compliance with God's order to maintain relations among kinfolks, all families gather regularly at the time of breakfast replacing the American fast food with Fatta 1, cake with Konafa, Pepsi with milk and dates and exchanging plates of food with neighbors. Children renounce play stations and video games and gather to decorate the streets with ornaments and Fawanese 2 which they made by their own hands as if announcing that the Egyptian fawanese with candles made by the handcrafters in Khan El Khalily will survive the Chinese invasion. After finishing the decoration process they walk in rows with fawanese in their hands singing Ramadanian songs instead of the current nonsensical anti-cultural songs. The Mesaharaty defies the domination of machines in the modern age and walks through the streets singing while beating his drum to awaken people. In addition to restoring the warm Egyptian way of life Ramadan acts as a restoration of hope. In brings the memory of the triumph over corruption in old history – Badr War- and in modern history-6 th of October war.
 That Ramadan is linked to a certain way of life was very well understood by the former generation of Arab singers and therefore they immortalized the Ramadanian heritage in their songs announcing their insistence on preserving these practices as part of the Arab Egyptian identity. Mohamed Fawzy immortalized the Mesaharaty tradition by adopting the pattern of his drum beating as a base of the opening music of his song "Ashhadlo Sobhano". Ramadanian features of festivity like playing with fawanese, singing "halo ya halo", exchanging gifts and serving dishes like Amar El Deen 3 are celebrated in many songs amongst which is "Khairat Ramadan". The most beautiful thing is that the songs of this generation immortalized the moral virtues revived in Ramadan along with the previous practices. Sabah's duet with Fo'ad El Mohandes calls for renouncing gluttony through a dialogue between a husband who takes fasting as an excuse to overeat on breakfast and the wife who tries to explain that this is against the notion and goal of fasting. In addition, numerous songs celebrate the practices of giving food and money to the needy, praying, reciting the holy Quoran…etc. These songs are therefore songs of survival of Ramadan and of the Arab Egyptian way of life.
Ramadan, then, comes in this age of cultural, economic, political and social defeat as an announcement of a new hope... a hope of survival
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) thank u sooo much somayah &wish u the best of luck
