ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Available for over a year

Good morning. The Muslim month of Ramadan today draws to a close. For weeks, millions of believers around the world have adopted an austere lifestyle change, a kind of hardcore detox, involving no food or drink during the daylight hours. Waistlines contract, charitable giving expands, prayers are heard, and there is a general sense of humble reconnection with God. The fast ends, as it has done today, with the festival of Eid, when patience gives way to thankfulness. There is a prayer and a sermon, and then, as the worshippers depart, one last act. It is customary to embrace one’s fellow worshippers. The point is solidarity: we have come through this together, and we are united in fellowship. But an embrace, the very last action of Ramadan, is not a trivial thing, particularly when one is conferring a warm hug on a total stranger. Muslim cultures, like Mediterranean and African cultures, tend to like physical contact. Of course, public touching across the gender divide is strongly frowned upon. But otherwise, and not just in families, cheek-kissing, touching during conversations, hugs of various kinds and levels of enthusiasm, form part of daily life. Traditionally, the British have perhaps been less keen on such displays. Remember the disapproving press headlines a few years back when Michelle Obama embraced the Queen. That’s changing rapidly. Where an England cricketer would once have been congratulated with the murmured words, Good show, and perhaps receive a pat on the back, now he is smothered with physical displays of affection from his teammates. In our entertainment culture this has become even more intense: apparently the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ television show The Voice shows us over a hundred hugs per episode. We have changed, we are more demonstrative, and British reserve is increasingly a thing of the past. Why is this happening? Could it be that as other forms of social connection, like family and neighbourhood, are being eroded, that we compensate with an extravaganza of touchy-feely greetings? I’m not sure. But in any case, the Muslim culture of hugging nowadays seems much less foreign. A hug, however, is much more than a greeting or a fond farewell. Medical science seems to be telling us that touch, perhaps the most indispensable sense, is vital to our wellbeing. Hugging releases hormones like oxytocin, which reduces blood pressure and improves memory. Studies suggest that babies are more likely to die if they are never touched. And so the latest alternative therapy is, believe it or not, cuddle therapy, which has its own qualifications and professional associations. Going too far? I think not. The Holy Prophet of Islam would very frequently embrace people. I imagine the founders of all religions did the same. Touch is healing, affirmation, reassurance, and a healthy culture, surely, is one where people can naturally embrace.