For the third year in a row, Yahoo! Maktoob Research has undergone a recent region-wide survey on attitudes and perceptions of people during Ramadan. The survey questions tackle sensitive areas related to traditions and practices giving straight and direct information of how people perceive Ramadan and how this perception changes each year. Unlike last year the number of Muslim Arabs observing the Ramadan fast this year is down by 2% (98% in 2009). The survey also revealed that a vast majority of this year’s respondents (87%) prefer to celebrate Iftar with their families at home.
The survey was conducted during the month of July, prior to start of the Holy Month; and investigates the opinions of 1,446 adult Muslims from across the Arabic world. The survey was conducted in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In total, 68% of the respondents were males and 41% were between the age of 36 and 45. The second dominating age range was between 18 and 25 (30%).
“The reason behind this survey is to study the perception of the Holy Month within the local and resident community across a number of countries in the region,†Tamara Deprez, Head of Yahoo! Maktoob Research. “The major outcome of this research is that the majority of the Arab remains attached to its traditions, values and practices when it comes to Ramadan. Muslims do feel a special bond and prefer to spend this Holy Month with family at home.â€
Key findings extracted from the survey are below:
- Your browser may not support display of this image. A majority (56%) of respondents relied on the call to prayer for Ramadan timings while 9% relied on Mosques for their timings. Other sources of this information were television, newspapers, internet and radio.
- The majority view Ramadan as an annual lesson in self-restraint and discipline. They like inviting friends and family to share the spirit of Ramadan and always pay Zakaat and read the entire Qur’an during the Holy Month.
- In regards to the methodology employed to determine the commencement of the Holy Month, 62% of respondents favored the time-honored tradition of moon-sighting by the naked eye, while 49% approved of declaration by scholars.
- A majority of respondents (87%) preferred to celebrate Iftar with family at home, others preferred to break the fast with friends.
- Interestingly, 75% of respondents (up from 73% of respondents from the 2009 survey) said they are keen to receive Islamic content on their mobile phones during the month of Ramadan. Dua’s, Prayer times and Holy Qur’an are the most preferred content choices.
