It happens every year. 

As we descend into the Holy Month of Ramadan, press releases flood our inboxes – with iftar and suhoor offerings, Ramadan deals and information. 

And there are always a few that miss the point. 

There was outcry recently over this story: A Dubai Restaurant Just Had The Ultimate Ramadan Brunch Fail, but it’s not just this resto that has missed the point of Ramadan. 

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All too often, we get releases about lavish buffets, sumptuous offerings during the Holy Month for iftar – basically restaurants trying to outdo each other with having the biggest and most popular iftar. 

But it’s totally missing the point. 

Ramadan is about charitable giving, abstaining from luxuries, about reflection and togetherness. It’s not about how many 24k gold-coated dates you can shovel into your mouth at iftar time. 

This will be my sixth Ramadan living in the UAE

And every year, it has gotten more OTT, more ‘lavish’ and more ‘sumptuous’ (I hate that word every month to be honest). 

Somewhere along the way, the competition for the iftar business got fierce and the point of breaking fast during the Holy Month has become a way for businesses to rake in cash.

And it shouldn’t be like that. Now I’m not saying the outlets shouldn’t have iftar offerings – they definitely should, and it’s lovely to do a group outing to an iftar. But let’s be appropriate on this? 

A true iftar experience would be something like the one offered at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding – for non-Muslims this is a great way to learn about the customs, and enjoy an iftar. 

It’s not a month where ‘more is more’, so let’s respect that, okay?