Christmas has lost its spiritual significance because of excessive commercialisa

November 25, 2003

Shops vie with mosques at Eid

As the festival of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of

Ramadan, approaches, Islamic scholars in Bangladesh are warning

against the commercialisation of the biggest date in the Muslim

calendar.

They are particularly concerned that materialism seems to be ousting

the mosque as the main focus in the lives of middle-class urbanites.

" The end of the period of fasting, called Ramadan, is supposed to be

celebrated quietly during Eid by giving presents within the family

and by giving to the poor, " said Professor M Shamser Ali, one of the

country's foremost experts in Islam.

" Instead some middle class people are turning this holy ceremony

into a shoppers' frenzy, spending frightening amounts of money on

clothes and other accessories that they don't need, " said Professor

Ali.

" It is not just in the shops where there is greed. In restaurants

too there is gluttony on a monstrous scale. "

" Some middle-class people seem to have forgotten that Islam says it

is acceptable to eat and drink - but it is unacceptable to be

wasteful. "

Professor Ali says the Eid ceremony is fast going the same way as

Christmas in the West, which critics say has lost its spiritual

significance because of excessive commercialisation. . . .

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