interview
The Berliner Manal El Daoud made the Ramadan calendar big in Germany. In the interview she talks about the outrage of the extremists and her life as a businesswoman with a headscarf.
30 doors until the Sugar Festival: For several years now, there have been calendars in Germany that – similar to Advent calendars – mark the days in the Muslim fasting month Ramadan count down to the sugar festival. Manal El Daoud, 38, sells her calendars at Kaufland, dm and through her online shop, for example. According to the company, sales figures have doubled since it launched in 2016.
Ms. El Daoud, your Ramadan calendar was first available at Kaufland. How did you convince buyers of a product that almost no one knew about?
It was actually very difficult to make him understand that this was a gap in the market. Many children felt the same way as mine: They wanted a calendar with sweets for Ramadan, similar to an Advent calendar. The buyer then asked a Muslim colleague, but remained skeptical. So we started 2018 very cautiously with 60 calendars per store, in almost 300 branches throughout Germany. After three days he asked if we could resupply because all the calendars were sold out.
At the same time, there is a lot of excitement surrounding your calendars: some criticize the commercialization of religious festivals, others fear the downfall of the West and suspect “Islamization.”
I am a Muslim myself and practice my religion, but I am open to everything. There are radicals everywhere, in Christianity as well as in Islam. They then report on social media, I call them the social media police. But firstly, even in Christianity, the Advent calendar was simply a commercial product that someone invented at some point. And secondly, we learned from a Hodja in Egypt…
This is an Islamic religious scholar.
… have a fatwa, a kind of certificate or seal, issued. He wrote to us very clearly that the calendars are permitted according to religious rules. What should be included? You make the children happy and teach them Islam in a playful way. I have held this view for years and no longer even respond to the comments.
They also face hostility from the right.
It was particularly bad in the first few years. I have received death threats and insults directed at the Prophet, really below the belt and unpleasant. Kaufland also received emails saying they were now being boycotted. An AfD politician photographed the calendar and posted it on Facebook. When we launched in the dm drugstores this year, I received hate mail again. That’s why I don’t show my face during interviews and don’t allow myself to be photographed. I don’t want to be recognized on the street.
People see me as a Hartz IV recipient.”
What does such insults do to you?
At the beginning they hurt me a lot. Now I’m a little more jaded. Nevertheless, it is a topic that has always concerned me in recent years. I studied at the TU Berlin and founded a company. But as long as I wear a headscarf, I will always be the headscarf aunt. That’s what I’m often called. People see me as a Hartz IV recipient. For them, the headscarf means: I’m stupid and I’m behind the stove. I will never be recognized as a businesswoman. At trade fairs, people don’t even want to be photographed with me.
How worried are you about the AfD’s good survey results?
I am a native Palestinian. When I was one and a half, my family fled Lebanon to Germany to escape the civil war. If the AfD comes to power, will we become refugees again? This idea scares me. Many people I know are already wondering where they could emigrate to. Where should I go as a Palestinian? I’m a stranger everywhere. This weighs heavily on me.
What is the Ramadan calendar for you?
For me it is a symbol of integration.
Which countries do you export to?
Our strongest foreign market is Dubai, i.e. the United Arab Emirates. We always have the exclusive calendar. It looks a little different than the German one, more oriental, and you can see the famous Abu Dhabi mosque. Prestige is very important in Dubai. Our calendar is well received.
What about Turkey or other Muslim-majority countries, for example?
We don’t export there. With the exception of Dubai, one has to say: The Ramadan calendar is a German product – like a Berlin kebab. Here in Germany we know Advent calendars and have an idea of what a Ramadan calendar could look like. We understand the idea behind it. That’s not the case in Turkey. We presented the product several times, but never found a suitable buyer.
Source: Stern
