…a wee post about Majlis visits in the Middle East…

…first up, for my non-Arabic friends, an explanation  of the WURD, ‘Majlis’ will be helpful… literally it means, ‘the place of sitting’… in Arabic society, the higher essence is of a council, where authority can listen to the views and opinions of those in their respective communities and constituencies… in the more general sense, and more widely applied, is simply the getting together of friends and family in a certain place to talk about anything and everything, pay respects to the holder of the Majlis, and spending time in the company of your fellows… during the Holy Month of Ramadan, there is much heightened activity on Majlis visiting, with people ‘doing the rounds’ of these… sometimes sitting for as little as ten or fifteen minutes, up to longer visits, depending on the amount of visitor traffic flowing into and out of the Majlis…

…this month, I have been privileged for the second year of my four in Bahrain to accompany my great friends Salah Al Tattan and his son, Nasser Al Tattan, on a program of evening visits, with as many as six or seven different Majlis meetings per night for the first two weeks of Ramadan… the visits begin after evening prayers , around 9.pm and go on until 1.am and later… these are attended by all and sundry, the great and powerful, and the rest of us…

…at every Majlis, we are welcomed with the same warmth and generosity of spirit so endemic to the Bahrainis… the format is one of honour and respect…  greetings first to the owner of the Majlis, usually the head of the family being visited, then handshakes with everybody in the room or hall where the Majlis is being held… we sit and talk with whomever is at our left or right…

…I have never been so struck with such open, widespread, genuine friendliness in any community, even, and particularly, it must be said, in my own home country… Majlis sittings are held by Sheiks in the Royal family, by leaders of the ‘noble’ families, by influential titans of business, by prominent members of neighborhood gatherings… and they are all terrific!… Ramadan Kareem!

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