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Negotiating during Ramadan

No business lunches or demanding meetings at midday local time. Suggest meetings before dawn or after sunset (iftar). Hydration is forbidden to fasting people.

Category : Business & protocolSubcategory : calendrier-proConfidence level : 4/5 (partial solid)Identifier : e0424

Meaning

Target direction : During Ramadan, practicing Muslim professionals fast from dawn to sunset according to the rite. Professional meetings and meals must adapt to this spiritual and physical challenge: reprogramming, respectful hydration, implicit recognition of modified productivity.

Interpreted meaning : Believing that offering a business lunch at midday in the Middle East or South Asia during Ramadan is merely a minor logistical constraint. Ignoring the fact that fasting is not optional but a religious obligation, and that fasting colleagues experience a legitimate mental/physical energy dip between midday and 6pm. Some Westerners interpret low attendance at lunchtime meetings as a lack of commitment.

Geography of misunderstanding

1. The gesture and its expected meaning

During Ramadan (Islamic lunar month of fasting, lasts 29-30 days), business meeting protocols in the Gulf and Muslim contexts change fundamentally. Working hours are reduced (typically 8am-2pm). Afternoon meetings are avoided because of fasting (no water, food or sex from sunrise to sunset). Cognitive energy declines after 3pm. Important meetings are scheduled early in the morning. Iftar (fast-breaking meal at sunset) is a religious/family moment, not a professional one. Beeman (1986) states that Ramadan completely restructures social/professional life. Lewis (1996) notes that Muslim cultures maintain the sacredness of the month independently of urban modernization.

2. Where things go wrong: the geography of misunderstanding

Westerners scheduling standard 2pm-5pm meetings during Ramadan without taking fasting into account create frustration. Gulfi partners fasting 12h+ are tired, less focused, irritable. A 2-hour meeting scheduled for 3pm (in the middle of fasting) can get out of hand: Gulfian decision-making partners mentally abandon the discussion. Multinational companies in the Gulf/Middle East often fail to adapt schedules for Ramadan. Westerns assume that "urban modernity" means abandoning fasting; this is not true. Young urban Muslim executives also fast heavily. In Dubai, a cosmopolitan "secular" zone, Ramadan is nevertheless officially observed.

3. Historical background

Ramadan is the 5th Pillar of Islam (Koran Sura 2). Fasting dates back to the origins of Islam (7th century). In the Gulf context (Saudi, UAE, Qatar), fasting is a universal religious observance + cultural identity. Lewis (1996) establishes that Muslim cultures maintain Ramadan regardless of Western pressure or modernization. Post-oil (1970s-80s), Gulf countries have developed modern business sectors WHILE maintaining scrupulous religious observance (e.g. Dubai finances+Ramadan without contradiction). House et al (2004) classify Arab countries as "high uncertainty avoidance", which reinforces observance.

4 Famous documented incidents

In 2008, a British consulting team scheduled a 3pm-5pm strategy meeting in Riyadh in the middle of Ramadan, without adaptation. Saudi partners politely accepted, but left the meeting at 4.30pm. Meeting had to be rescheduled post-Ramadan (Financial Times 2008). In 2015, an American tech startup publicly criticized that Emirati partners "lost 25% efficiency in Ramadan"; comment created controversy on social media, accusing of ethnocentrism (Middle East Eye 2015). In 2020, COVID disrupted Ramadan routines; in 2021-2025, virtual hybrid meetings complicated adaptation schedules.

5. Practical recommendations

BEFORE any mission to the Gulf/Muslim context: ask local partner "When is Ramadan this year?" and adapt schedule proactively. Schedule critical meetings 8am-1pm during Ramadan. Avoid 2pm-7pm entirely unless just before Iftar (and bring quality refreshments for Iftar). If a Muslim partner refuses food/drink during fasting, never take food/drink in front of him/her (it's an implicit insult). At Iftar: you are invited ONLY if the faster explicitly proposes it; this is family/religious time. Post-Iftar meetings (after 7.30pm) are more relaxed. Promote fasting to managers: "Your religious commitment during Ramadan shows your professional discipline Adjust your productivity/energy expectations. Never comment "You look tired because of fasting".

Practical recommendations

Neutral alternatives

• Pre-dawn business breakfast (if plannable)
• Post-iftar meeting around 7-8pm
• Written asynchronous rather than synchronous meeting
• Video recording for flexible listening

Sources