Dr. Muhammad Ghanem Al-Rumaihi is considered a sociologist, but he combines academic specialization with love for research and culture, as he previously headed Al-Arabi magazine, and assumed the secretariat of the National Council for Culture and Literature, in addition to his work at Kuwait University as a professor, assistant dean and head of department. Despite the strictness of his approach and the seriousness of his life, he has a cheerful social face, which those who knew him closely comment on. Here is the text of our conversation with him:
• Who do you miss in Ramadan?
• • I miss some of the friends who passed away to their innocence, and in the seasons, a person remembers these friends, comrades, and family members with all respect, and he is certain that this house is mortal, and nothing remains of it except the good remembrance.
• What remains in the childhood memory of the previous Ramadans?
•• In my memory of Ramadan when I was a child, and the mother at that time was the one who did the housework, so she would cook and bake the tortillas bread (the need for the soaking) as we say here, and therefore the house would catch fire before the hours of breaking the fast, like a beehive, and I am talking about our house, which at that time included an extended family ( My brothers and their wives are next to the father and mother). and liquefied water, so (Al-Kandari) was bringing water, arriving in the midst of much celebration. Perhaps we were lucky to have a (well) in the middle of the house, but the need for drinking water was essential, and from what I remember, I once fell into a (harees) pot while I was playing around my mother and wives My brothers, and it was an incident that the family remembers for many years, and I was craving (Al-Hanwa), which is a small tortilla with an egg broken on it, and it is my mother’s gift to me after she finished (Tawa), which is the piece of sheet metal that makes the bread that smells delicious.
• Dish sticks to your table?
•• I do not stipulate a specific type of food on the table, for everything that is placed for me is eaten, and there were two types of food (tashribeh) or (quried), which is tortilla bread with broth and meat, and there was a dish (harees) that was the tradition in the past with a bit of sweet (muhallabiya); It is made of starch or ground flour, but with the advancement of (welfare), the matter has changed. Eating fish was not a popular tradition in Ramadan, but with the progress of time, fish and new types of food were allowed!
• Which is closer to you during Ramadan or its eves?
•• The evening of Ramadan has a special taste in Kuwait with the presence of the Diwaniya, as it is a meeting place and a place for blessing, and it is also a station for listening to news that is not published or broadcast. For a number of them, in the first week and maybe even the second, the blessing is the basis, but in my case, going to a diwaniya after eleven o'clock with friends is a habit that has been going on for perhaps half a century, and usually every night after the tan in this diwaniya we all eat suhoor and then we return to the homes.
• What about the possibility of interruption from communication sites during Ramadan?
•• Social communication is a problem and an opportunity, especially in Ramadan and special occasions. Dozens of congratulations come to you and you have to respond to them. Some of them are nothing more than (cut and paste) without any emotion or meaningful words. It is the scourge of the era that we both hate and love. She is emotionally drained.
• What is the music stuck in the memory from a long time ago and did not leave it?
•• Perhaps two songs (Welcome Ramadan) in the early days, and the night of Eid (Oh, the night of Eid, Missena), both of which are by the singing lady, Umm Kulthum.
• How much is the Ramadan bill?
•• I do not go to the market to secure Ramadan lawsuits, and I do not remember throughout my life that I sat in a cafe.
• Where does the Ramadan Iftar compass pointer go?
•• I do not like breakfast outside the house and hesitate to accept iftar invitations. Rather, it is heavy in my perception because iftar at home has (its comfort) and has (its smell), when necessary I go to an invitation but I am very, very less.
• What attracts you to the screen after breakfast?
A lot of times I follow Arabic series with meaning and write about some of them. The Arab Ramadan culture has shifted from (reviews) in the past to series today, just as the abundance of modern devices such as (iPad) makes it easy to follow the series, as it is only days until it is shown You have more than one location to follow the series, and you choose the time, everything around us changes.
• Which city do you like to fast in?
•• A person is by nature (alof) Do you not mention the beautiful house of Al-Mutanabbi (I created loyalty if I went back to boyhood, I would leave my heartache crying) A person gets used to what he lived in and around him, and usually I do not leave Kuwait in Ramadan because of the atmosphere that I mentioned, and if I travel forced, that is on me For those who make things difficult!
• Does the increase in worship in Ramadan increase the indicator of religiosity?
•• The indicator of religiosity is already high for us, and that is because of our ignorance of our religion, as it is a religion that encourages life and the building of the earth. The idea of contempt for the world out of longing for the hereafter, which is a philosophy that, in my opinion, is contrary to the principles of the Islamic religion.
• How do you read the belief of some in the blessing of death in Ramadan?
•• Life and death are in the hands of God Almighty, and a person will be rewarded according to the amount and type of his work, not the timing of his death!
• When do you yearn to go to restaurants?
•• I do not go to restaurants during Ramadan except on a rare occasion and under great necessity. The home atmosphere is the comfortable place.
• What opens the windows of nostalgia in your heart (flowers, message, song, memory)?
•• What opens the windows of nostalgia to my heart, the words of the prince of poets, Shawqi, and the voice of Abdel Wahhab in (Your pain, dryness, his resting place), isn't that beautiful and sufficient to open the windows and doors to the heart to enrich the soul?
Ali Al-Rubai (Jeddah) @Okaz_online