Ramazan The World Over

As the world’s estimated 1.6 billion Muslims marked the beginning of Ramazan this weekend, the holy season is marred by unprecedented turmoil, violence and sectarian hatreds that threaten to rip apart the Middle East, the epicentre of Islam. 

Syria is bleeding. Militants have taken over large parts of Iraq. Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt are all battling religious extremists. Millions of war refugees are scattered across the landscape. 

Although the bloodshed has eroded much of the Ramazan joy, millions of Shia and Sunni Muslims will fast for gruelling hours, both hoping for God’s acceptance. 

Ramazan got under way in Asian countries including Indonesia, which has the world’s biggest Muslim population at around 225 million people, war-torn Afghanistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. 

For many Indonesians, the start of Ramazan was a time to be with their families or take part in special prayers, with thousands heading to Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, the biggest in Southeast Asia, on Saturday evening.

Politics was in focus in war-torn Afghanistan, with conversation at “iftar” meals after sunset expected to focus on the disputed vote count from the country’s presidential election.

Sri Lanka’s Muslims, who account for about 10 percent of the country’s 20 million population of mainly Buddhists, are set to observe a low-key Ramazan after a spate of recent attacks by Buddhist extremists.

The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, which groups nearly 50 Muslim organizations, said authorities had promised tighter security but many were still afraid of Buddhist extremist attacks after four people were killed in religious riots this month.

In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, the country’s Muslim minority was observing its first Ramazan since the signing of a peace deal between the government and the largest Islamic rebel group after decades of conflict.

Von Al-Haq, military spokesman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said the former rebels would seek to use the holy month to try to persuade breakaway groups still fighting the government to lay down their arms.

In Pakistan, the holy month began in most parts of the country on Monday as, according to the central Ruet-i-Hilal (moon sighting) Committee, the moon was not sighted anywhere in Pakistan on Saturday. 

Mufti Munibur Rehman, chairman of the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee, announced after chairing a meeting in Karachi that since the Ramazan moon was not seen anywhere in the country on Saturday, the holy month would begin on Monday (June 30).

But in what has now become almost an unavoidable ritual in the build-up to Ramazan as well as Eid Al Fitr, Mufti Shahabuddin Populzai, the chairman of an unofficial Ruet body in Peshawar in troubled Khyber Pakhtunkwah province bordering Afghanistan, came up with a claim close to midnight that he had received “enough eyewitness accounts” to establish the sighting of the crescent. The first day of Ramazan was, therefore, observed there on Sunday.”

Local ulema in strife torn Bajaur and Mohmand tribal agencies also started Ramazan on Sunday defying Central Committee.

For half a million Pakistanis displaced by a military offensive, the prospect of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramazan amid severe food shortages has sharpened anger towards the government.

The military began long-anticipated strikes on the North Waziristan tribal district in mid-June, hoping for a swift victory over a resurgent Taliban enemy in the aftermath of a bloody attack on the country’s busiest airport in Karachi.

Far from the comforts of home in their cool mountainous district, many displaced people are facing up to life in tent villages a few kilometres east of the region’s border.

Temperatures approach 50C (122F) and riots frequently break out over the lack of food supplies. 

In UK Muslims geared up to fast for 19 hours during the holy month that began there on Sunday.

The holy month was also starting across the Middle East, as bloody conflicts rage in Iraq and Syria.

In Iran, people marked the beginning of the Islamic holy month on Sunday by performing traditional rituals on the streets of the capital, Tehran.

Traditional or classic music was played, while crushed seeds of wild rue or Esband were burned.

Esband burning is a well-known cultural feature in Iran which is believed to keep away negative energy.

In Egypt authorities decided to restrict sermons during the holy month to topics of faith and morality, according to the state’s top official in charge of religious affairs. This is widely seen as a latest measure by the new government to control mosques and limit access of opponents to them.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has said this year will be tough for fasting faithful, while ambulance services and medics are pointing at the risk to the elderly and those with controlled medical conditions.

“In 2014, the fasting hours for Ramazan will be some 19 hours long. With some five hours only available to eat, drink, sleep and pray, Ramazan in the UK will be tough,” the MCB said in a statement.

During Ramazan Muslims abstain from food from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable. They are also required to abstain from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex.

DIABETES & DEHYDRATION

An MCB leaflet advises: “Long fasts put you at higher risk of low blood sugar levels and dehydration. If the weather is hot you can also become dehydrated without drinking, which can make you ill. High blood sugar levels can also occur if you become dehydrated and/ or if you eat excessively at Suhoor or Iftar.”

The UK has a population of 2.7 million Muslims, of whom 325,000 have diabetes, according to The Guardian newspaper.

“When Ramazan falls in the summer months it’s really important to take extra care to drink enough before the fast to keep your fluid levels up during the day and avoid dehydration,” Buckinghamshire’s director of public health Jane O’Grady was quoted as saying by a local newspaper.

“Do watch out for more vulnerable members of the community, especially if the weather is very warm, to make sure that they stay healthy during the holy month.”

NEW GUIDELINES FOR SWEDEN

Nineteen hours won’t be the longest fast in the world, however. Fasters in parts of the northern hemisphere will face periods that last up to 21 hours.

Last week, Al Arabiya News Channel reported that the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) was studying some issues that linked fasting in countries where the daytime is long, with the sun not setting in some areas of Western Europe until 11:00 p.m.

In parts of northern Sweden, such as Kiruna – where the sun sets extremely late – Muslims will now be urged to follow the sun in Stockholm or in Malmö – where the sun sets earlier.

Religious authorities have not had to issue such guidelines for Muslims in the UK.

FASTING EXEMPTION

“In accordance with Islamic teachings, all those who are ill, frail, pregnant, menstruating or are travelling are exempt from fasting.

“If they are able to, these people may make up the fast at a later date, perhaps during the winter months with a shorter daylight period, such as November, December or January.

“But if they cannot fast at all, in either summer or in the winter months, they can complete their duties by offering charity or providing food to the poor.

WORLD CUP

Algerian football players who observe the holy month of Ramazan have been relieved from fasting to play at the World Cup, the team confirmed ahead of their match against Germany in Brazil on Monday.

Algerian coach Vahid Halilhodzic stated that the players will be following the program of an imam travelling with the team to make sure that they respect the holy month, while maintaining their physical stability.

The veteran coach said fasting was a ”private issue and players will do exactly as they wish.”

Some facts about Ramazan:

INDULGENCE?

It may be a time for introspection but Ramazan can also be a time of indulgence. Ramazan is a time for families and friends to gather for elaborate, fast-breaking iftars. There’s a tendency to overeat and go wild on sweets. Prices go up. In Persian Gulf states so-called Ramazan tents are popular venues, providing a place for people to meet after sunset to eat and smoke water pipes until the early morning hours.

RAMAZAN AND VIOLENCE

Ramazan is a time of heightened religious fervor, and extremist militants in Iraq have in the past stepped up their attacks on minority places of worship during the month. Some Sunni extremists believe that attacks, especially suicide missions, during Ramazan are more blessed and better rewarded by God.

SURVIVING RAMAZAN TRADITION

Dates with names: In Egypt, dates — typically eaten first to break the fast — are named after leaders, politicians or celebrities. From ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak to Islamist President Mohammad Morsi to the current president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Egyptian Ramazan dates have kept in line with the county’s political oscillations.

Mehebes: Despite the perpetual turmoil of Iraq, one surviving tradition is mehebes, a popular game played during Ramazan where players hope to win sweets by guessing who among their opposing team is hiding a ring in their hands.

Pheni and Khajla: Discs of thin, deep-fried vermicelli and crispy, puffed up discs of flaky pastry soaked with milk and eaten for the pre-dawn meal, or Suhur, in Pakistan. Heaps of both items can be found at sweets shops and bakeries during the entire month. In Lebanon, Jordan and Palestinian territories, the equivalent is Qatayef and Kunafa.

Cannons: Before television and radio, it was the only way to alert people it was time to break the fast. A few places, such as Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, have kept up the tradition. Every day at sunset during the holy month, cannon shots are fired from 12 locations at iftar time.

Lanterns: Traditional colorful lanterns, also known as Fanoos, are an integral part of Ramazan in Egypt, where they are hung at the entrance of each building, supermarket and shop. The tradition is believed to date back to the Fatimid period and has spread to other countries in the Arab world.

Sahar-Khwan or Musaharati: A person entrusted with waking people up for a pre-dawn meal and prayers ahead of the day’s fast by banging on drums. While the centuries-old tradition is fading away — phone alarms replacing the drumming — the custom is still alive in some parts of Kashmir, Beirut, Cairo and Gaza.

The typical drum cry goes:

“Oh, sleeping one, wake up and pray for God — Ramazan Kareem.”

—TRANS ASIA NEWS FEATURES

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