The status of Friday: call for working week to be redefined

Because the weekend in the West begins on Saturday and the Islamic world takes Friday off, opportunities for interaction with Western firms are fewer than they might otherwise be without such a difference. Pakistani businessmen have consistently been calling for a change in the structure of the working week so as to take Sunday off and work on Friday. Islam calls believers to prayer on Friday, but al-Qur'an does not mandate a full day of rest. Thus, it is not contrary to Islam to open offices on that day while leaving the time for prayers free. Still, much cultural opposition is expected to such a change, if any were to take place. Furthermore, economist Khurshid Ahmad argues, changing the working week will have little impact on an economy that already has mechanisms for dealing with time differences and varying schedules.