VARIOUS: FESTIVITIES HAVE BEGUN AROUND THE MUSLIM WORLD MARKING THE HOLY FASTING MONTH OF RAMADAN

Record ID: 377143

  • Title: VARIOUS: FESTIVITIES HAVE BEGUN AROUND THE MUSLIM WORLD MARKING THE HOLY FASTING MONTH OF RAMADAN
  • Date: 7th November 2002
  • Summary: (W4) CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT - NOVEMBER 3, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. SLV SAYIDA ZEINAB MOSQUE / AUDIO OF THE 'ATHAN' (MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER) 0.07 2. MV RAMADAN LANTERNS SHOP; PAN OF LANTERNS IN SHOP; MV BUYER INSPECTING A LARGE LANTERN; SCU RAMADAN SWEETS; MV WOMAN BUYING SWEETS, CLOSE-UP OF NUTS; MV VENDORS WEIGHING SWEETS; SCU CASH MACHINE (8 SHOTS) 0.48
  • Embargoed: 22nd November 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CAIRO, EGYPT/ RAMALLAH, WEST BANK/ KARACHI, PAKISTAN/KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
  • City:
  • Country: Pakistan West Bank West Bank Egypt Kuwait
  • Reuters ID: LVA31RJZAU2ZXIJZX2S4CMFA9HF7
  • Story Text: Festivities have begun around the Muslim world to mark
    the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

    It is seen as the most significant of months, a month
    of contemplation, spiritual and physical discipline and a time
    for making extra effort to spread peace and reconciliation.

    Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. They try to cultivate a
    peaceful and prayerful attitude of mind, and undergo the
    physical discipline of giving up all food, liquid, smoking and
    sexual intercourse during the hours of daylight for the entire
    month.

    Fasting in Ramadan is a religious requirement for those
    who are physically able and one of the five pillars of Islam.

    The month of Ramadan is particularly festive in Egypt,
    where fasting by day is matched with feasting and socialising
    by night.

    Shops and homes have stocked up on sweet nutty pastries,
    dates, figs and juices made from dried apricots, hibiscus and
    tamarind to add a special touch to gatherings of families and
    friends around a hearty fast-breaking meal.

    But this year's celebrations may be overshadowed by
    economic hardships and peoples' rising concern about troubles
    in the wider Arab and Muslim world, especially as the threat
    looms large of a U.S. invasion of Iraq.

    Egyptians have however come up with ways of adding a
    defiant political twist to the traditional Ramadan
    festivities.

    This year, some of the traditional children's musical
    lanterns are playing nationalistic songs about Jerusalem -- a
    city holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews, which for Arabs
    symbolises the Palestinian fight to end Israel's occupation.

    "I hope that the United States wouldn't attack Iraq or any
    other Arab country and that Israel would calm down these days
    and let people celebrate and enjoy the holy month of Ramadan,"
    said computer company owner Khalid Abdel Latif.

    Meanwhile, in the West Bank and Gaza, many Palestinian
    Muslims observing the first day of the holy month were blocked
    from travelling to visit family or mosques outside their towns
    and villages by an Israeli army blockade.

    One Palestinian said that Ramadan this year has come at a
    time when Palestinians are going through hardship, adding that
    the people were under Israeli siege.

    People in Karachi, provincial capital of southern Sindh
    province and throughout Pakistan are also set to welcome the
    start of their holy month.

    "As Ramadan approaches near so we buy extra food items
    that are usually not bought every month...so that's how we
    prepare for it (Ramadan)", said Shumaila Manzoor, a housewife.

    During Ramadan shop owners employ extra staff to manage
    the higher demand of customers.

    But in a country where most of the population belongs to a
    class where they can barely manage to make ends meet, Ramadan
    can be a "nuisance" rather than a blessing as food vendors,
    wholesalers and retailers charge almost double the price of a
    commodity than in usual days.

    Restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets across Kuwait
    closed their doors on Wednesday (November 6) as Muslims around
    the region marked the start of Ramadan.

    Instead of thinking about politics and war, people in
    Kuwait were busy preparing for the traditional family
    gatherings that take place after sunset when the fasting is
    broken and the feasting begins.

    In the afternoon, people were lining up in bakeries to buy
    sweets and cakes to share with their loved ones during the
    evening gatherings known as Iftar (breaking the fast) and
    Suhour (the last meal before sunrise).

    "Ramadan is the holy month where the Muslims do a lot of
    praying, reading the Quran and we need good preparation for
    that. And for myself right now I am buying sweets for today
    when we finish the fasting. That is something normal for
    everybody here, to buy sweets for after the praying," said
    Raad al-Saleh, father of six.


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