From Worship to Entertainment: The Shifting Meaning of Ramadan in the Culture of Watching Musalsalāt in Egypt

Abstract

Egypt is a country with a long history of cultural interaction and social transformation. This condition has shaped various unique traditions, including the development of Ramadan popular culture through musalsalāt (Arabic television serial dramas). This study aims to examine the emergence of musalsalāt culture during Ramadan in Egypt, its social significance, and its relationship with Islamic values amid modernization and globalization. This research employs a qualitative method with a library research approach by analyzing books, academic journals, historical sources, and relevant media publications. The findings show that the tradition of watching musalsalāt during Ramadan emerged from the interaction between technological development, globalization, capitalist media industries, and the transformation of Egyptian society. In contemporary Egypt, musalsalāt are not merely entertainment, but also function as instruments of social influence, economic profit, cultural identity formation, and even political messaging. However, this phenomenon also creates tensions between the spiritual essence of Ramadan and the increasingly dominant entertainment culture. The study concludes that musalsalāt represent a new cultural form whose meaning depends on how society produces, interprets, and consumes it. Therefore, this phenomenon reflects the complex negotiation between religion, modernity, and popular culture in contemporary Egyptian society.