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Somber Ramadan ahead for Muslims
11/16/2001
By JAMAL HALABY AMMAN, Jordan — Mohammad Awadallah busied himself Thursday preparing sweets
for Ramadan — four weeks of fasting, spiritual reflection and celebration — but
Israeli-Palestinian fighting and the war in Afghanistan lent a somber tone to
the Muslim holiday. ``Ramadan is a special time for everything good, for festivity, worship,
making up with friends and family and helping the poor,'' he said in his tiny
Amman bakery. ``But it has a different taste — a bitter taste — this year because Muslims
in Palestine and Afghanistan are being persecuted,'' the 47-year-old cook said
with a sigh. Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of a new moon. The
timing differs among Muslim nations. Jordan's Chief Justice Izzeddine Khatib al-Tamimi said Ramadan would begin
Friday as soon as a new moon is sighted. The mufti of Egypt, Nasr Farid Wasel also declared Friday the start of
Ramadan, and the Saudi royal court declared the same after the country's supreme
judicial council said a new moon had appeared. The authorities also said Friday would be the first day of the holy month in
Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and
Yemen. However, in Oman, the committee responsible for observing the new moon said
it had not been seen on Thursday night, so Ramadan would start on Saturday. With Afghanistan in the throes of civil war, it was not clear when the start
of Ramadan would begin there. During Ramadan, observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and
sexual intercourse between sunrise and sunset to spiritually renew themselves.
The month commemorates the time that God began to reveal the Quran, the Muslim
holy book, to the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago. It is also an occasion for festivity as after sunset Muslims indulge in
special foods and traditional entertainment. Along the bustling, narrow streets of downtown Amman, restaurants offered
special Ramadan meals for $2. Fireworks lit up the sky, announcing the eve of
Ramadan. In upscale neighborhoods, coffee shops and five-star hotels pitched colorful
tents in preparation for sumptuous buffets, live music and other entertainment.
As in other countries in the Middle East, Jordanian mosques prepared their
``tables of mercy,'' a tradition of free meals that dates back 1,000 years to
when the Fatimid caliphs in Cairo first decreed that the poor should be fed
throughout Ramadan. Religious Affairs Minister Ahmad Helayel said the state would make a special
effort this Ramadan by delivering meals to people's homes. However, many Jordanians predicted a solemn Ramadan this year. ``We should scale down the celebrations because of Muslim anguish and wars
against Islam,'' said Muhammad Sharawi, 24, owner of a chewing gum factory. Muna Al-Aryan, 32, a secretary, said she hoped the United States would stop
bombing Afghanistan and that Israel would cease fighting with the Palestinians
during Ramadan. ``I hope the Israelis and Americans would be a bit more considerate to
Muslims and suspend their aggression for a little time, at least during
Ramadan,'' she said. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said U.S. forces would continue to
pursue the al-Qaida terror group and their Taliban allies in Afghanistan through
Ramadan, noting that Muslim states in the past have waged war during the holy
month. Sameh Mihyar, 33, a technician, said Jordanians could do little to help ease
the suffering of other Muslims. ``We can't go fight against Israel or America, but we can pray to God to
crush both nations,'' he said.
Associated Press Writer