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Dubai. Hundreds of Asian laborers sit silently on the floor outside Dubai’s Fatima Hassan Mosque in front of plates laden with fruit, pakoras and biryani as they wait in the energy-sapping humidity to begin their Ramadan iftar.

Nearby, sweat-drenched volunteers scoop deep-fried vegetables and rice-based dishes of stewed meats from huge metal urns onto plates for the last of their weary guests, as they count down the final minutes until the sun disappears from the horizon, the moment they can break their dawn-to-dusk fast.

The Fatima Hassan Mosque provides a free iftar for the poor every day during the holy month, cooking enough rice, mutton or chicken to feed some 1,500 to 1,800 workers in one sitting.

The mosque’s waste bins may be empty, but Ramadan brings a huge rise in food waste across the Gulf as leftovers from more lavish banquets attended by the well-to-do are thrown out in a region where soaring temperatures mean fresh food goes off quickly.

“We hardly have any waste. Whatever is left over we serve to people. We call the people over and give it to them,” said Nour Mohammed, a sales coordinator who volunteers to serve food.

Not all iftars in Dubai are simple meals provided for the poor, many of whom are migrant workers, paid less than 1,000 dirhams ($272) a month and often have large debts.

Dubai has transformed itself in the last 50 years into a regional business and tourism hub renowned for extravagant real-estate projects, flashy living and luxurious banquets at hotels and restaurants to accommodate the demands of wealthy consumers who want the best fresh food at their iftar feasts.

The emirate boasts a number of luxurious hotels, many laying on massive iftars for those who can afford it. Iftars at top-end venues are often pricey, with some charging as much as 200 dirhams per person.

“They see Ramadan as a chance to squeeze a non-alcoholic consuming demographic, and the economy has been slow for a while,” said Mishaal al-Gergawi, a current affairs commentator in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the hours of preparation put into the often vast displays of food, waiters at top hotels in Dubai say much of the leftovers go straight into the waste bins.

The amount of food thrown out in the emirate jumps considerably in the holy month — by as much as 20 percent, according to Dubai Municipality, with most of the waste comprising rice and non-vegetable foods. Around 1,850 tons of food were thrown out on average per day during Ramadan in 2010, roughly 20 percent of total waste in the emirate during the holy month, it said.

In Abu Dhabi, at least 500 tons of food were thrown out on a daily basis during the month, Abu Dhabi-based daily The National reported last August.

“Hot and cold, all the food on the buffet gets thrown out,” said a waiter at a five-star hotel in Dubai who gave his name as Nazir, through fear of losing his job. “If people order room service, we’ll make it fresh again. But sometimes we have a lot of waste.”

Food experts at top hotels JW Marriott and Hilton in Dubai, however, say they plan so no food is thrown out despite preparing up to 15 percent more food during the holy month.

The large increase in food waste during the holy month has drawn criticism from religious scholars, who say it goes against the spirit of fasting.

“Wasting the blessing of Allah, like food, particularly at a time when you see people starving in Ethiopia, Somalia and other places, does not fit in the Islamic notion of moderation. God says in the Koran that those who waste the blessing of God, they are the brethren of the devils,” said Sheikh Muddassir Siddiqui, an Islamic scholar in Dubai.

“Hotels should cut back on the amount of food they provide. It should not be a matter of prestige. Iftars at hotels should not be intended just for rich people but for everyone, particularly the less fortunate. There are many of them.”

One charity that has been looking to help the poor and needy is Hefth al-Ne’ma, Arabic for “Saving Grace.” Set up in 2004, the Abu Dhabi-based organization collects leftover food from large gatherings such as weddings, banquets and iftars at hotels in the capital to distribute food that is safe to eat.

The charity hopes to set up operations in Dubai and other emirates later this year, its manager Sultan al-Shehi said.

Reuters