Oh Bar Code.
I know you’re excited about the celebration for the end of Ramadan, and that you want nothing more than to offer awesome celebrations to those partying it up for Eid al-Fitr, but you maybe want to do something other than offer free jello shots and a free bottle of Belvedere for groups of six ladies.
Do you also have a bacon and pulled pork bar for guests to frequent? Or maybe a “Draw the Prophet” contest planned?
Well, at least there wasn’t a scantily clad girl on the flier? Thanks much to Elahe Izadi of WAMU for pointing this out.
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
Does seem a bit ham-handed, doesn’t it?
Wow. This is pretty hilarious. I wonder if they know what Eid is?
Via Twitter, they seem to have Ramadan confused with Lent:
@welovedc @ElaheIzadi If you had been unable to drink for a month then this event would be pretty special right? #unclearonthefacts
it’s just like the catholics that are so in favor of abortion rights. sure, a couple exist, but they sure as hell aren’t in the mainstream of the faith.
Actually, no, it’s not like Catholics and abortion at all. In the Quran (aka the Koran), the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) specifically states that alcohol is prohibited. Such a specific reference is not made in the Bible about abortions, per se. Just saying, although I myself am not a Muslim, I am somewhat offended by this…and I have Muslim relatives and friends, who I am positive would be offended with a Muslim holy day/ party being promoted with jello shots, (even though a few of them may drink on occasion). There is a difference between an individual choice not to follow a commandment and marketing the blatant disregard of a commandment. It just seems a little insensitive to me.
The Prophet Muhammad did not write the Quran. It us the word of God. Also, the Quran does not forbid alcohol. Progressive Islam follows the Quran only, which is much more liberal than following Hadith. Hadith states that alcohol is forbidden.
I know plenty of Muslims who party, and go to clubs like this and get bottle service and get pretty hammered. This is marketed towards people like them, and they’ll probably be there in droves.
At least they’re being straight. There’s a big population who holds up their clubbing during ramadan. First chance they get…they’re back out to places like bar code. But yeah…eid is not the exact right theme..
If you know “plenty” of Muslims who party, they are probably men. And even the less devout among Muslim MEN would likely take it easy on “getting pretty hammered” on a day of such religious significance as Eid. This flyer, however, is marketing to Muslim WOMEN–and it is offensive. In Arab culture as well as Islamic, women do NOT drink,and certainly do not spend their time partying in groups at nightclubs–even single women. This promotor is clearly not familiar with Muslim tradition. Many Muslim MEN partake on occasion, so perhaps this drink special should be targeting this population. As a Muslim woman, I can promise you that any Muslim woman out drinking with a bunch of girls in a nightclub is neither a true and devout practicing Muslim, nor a respectable Islamic woman. I find the insinuation by anyone that seeing groups of Muslim women out “getting hammered” at clubs together on a regular basis is a common thing downright laughable…and absolutely ignorant and untrue. And the Quran DOES forbid alcohol, as well as any other substance that alters one’s physical and mental state on any level that is unpleasing to Allah. Some of these folks need to read and do a little research about our religion before they make ignorant blanket statements like the ones above, or print ridiculous flyers for cheesy nightclubs. **forehead smack**
Drinking is explicitly forbidden in Islam, regardless of whether you adhere to it or not. However, most mainstream Muslims drink, go out, etc., and it’s widely accepted. It’s a personal choice. But arguing whether or not Muslims drink on the reg isn’t what is being discussed in this situation.
The issue here is the obvious hypocrisy of celebrating the summation of a month of piety by condoning the consumption of alcohol, one of the single most prohibited acts in Islam. It’s sacrilegious…and just plain dumb to advertise something like this.
Ramadan isn’t a month of giving up something, like giving up meat for Lent. It’s a month of fasting, prayer and spirituality…
Giving up drinking alcohol during the month of Ramadan is a personal choice that’s been invented: you aren’t supposed to be doing it, but to do it during the holiest month of the year will just riddle you with guilt.
Duh, Muslims who have been abstaining from drinking are going to go out. But that’s not what they’re supposed to be celebrating…
Barcode would have been better off marketing an “End of Summer” or “Back to School” party than try and associate a Muslim religious holiday with alcohol.
Besides, anyone who ACTUALLY celebrates Eid for what it is wouldn’t be at a bar.
The koran forbids consumption of alcohol but allows the murder of infidels? What a backwards religion. It’s based on a con artist, muhammad who raped and murdered in his ascent to power.
I revise what I said about Lent. That’s not what Lent is about either. Sorry Catholics!
Personally, I think this is more offensive: http://bit.ly/qUfyiz
Obviously you dont know the DC bar/club scene well enough. Muslims/Persians run the DC club scene…. just incase you were wondering what I was getting at.
You failed to mention in your article that the organizer of this event is actually a Muslim, and that There is a good size Muslim crowd that comes to drink at Barcode regularly. This event is for them.
Who are you to judge them and their beliefs?
Within any religion, there is a wide range of views, beliefs, and interpretations. Not all Muslims are the stereotypically strict and uptight type. Working in DC nightclubs, I see plenty of Muslims who party and drink in the clubs every week.
I am an Arab Muslim woman and I do not find this offensive. At my Eid party, we went through 6 bottles of wine and a gallon of iced tea with pomegranate liqueur. (No pork though.)
In Islam, like in Christianity, there is a wide spectrum of people. Some people are very strict, some people are not. It’s lovely that young Muslim women can go out to a bar in a big group on the most fun holiday.
It also is a great way to reach out to non-Muslims. Americans are more interested in learning about holidays when they get to drink. Look at Cinco de Mayo!
@Talluleh – it’s judgemental, intolerant people who do the most damage. The face of Islam has many aspects, and yours is one of the most unfortunate.
@Tiger Lily, you’re right on target in many respects: no hypocrisy, sensitivity to non-Muslims, and an open attitude.
I have many Muslim friends from the 4 corners of the world. It’s not coincidence that they are all loving, tolerant, accepting people…
This just in, folks: God/Allah/whatever doesn’t exist. Drink what you want, when you want. Enjoy your regularly-scheduled life on Earth.
Muslims drink in bars! Also jews eat bacon and christians eat lobster! AAAAAH!