Scholars, militants, believers disagree on fighting during Ramadan

By JAMIE TARABAY
Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM – Is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan a time for introspection and prayer, or a period when fighting may continue and even intensify?

What once might have been an esoteric question pondered by Islamic scholars and historians has become of much wider concern because of the war in Afghanistan and the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, now in its 14th month.

Ramadan is celebrated as the period when the Quran, the Muslim holy book, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago. Observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours.

Scholars say Ramadan was a truce month among pre-Islamic tribes. Yet the Quran does not specifically address warfare during Ramadan.

"If you are looking for a verse that says, pick up arms during Ramadan, there is no such verse," said Islamic scholar Mustafa Abu Sway, a Palestinian. "If you are looking for a verse that says, lay down your arms, it's not there, either."

Muslim leaders have asked the United States to halt its bombing of Afghanistan during Ramadan in deference to the religious observances. U.S. officials suggested this week that bombings would be scaled back, but not stopped.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Ramadan was not expected to bring a lull to fighting that has killed 754 people on the Palestinian side and 197 people on the Israeli side since September 2000. The violence carried on through Ramadan last year.

Israel said Thursday it would not suspend incursions into Palestinian territory and targeted killings of suspected militants during Ramadan, which began Friday.

"Everything we do is part of our war against terrorism," said Israel Defense Ministry spokesman Yarden Vatikay.

"If the terrorist organizations decide not to carry out attacks, we will not need to attack their leaders. But in my opinion, the terrorist organizations have no God. It makes no difference to them whether it's Ramadan or not," Vatikay said.

Islamic militant leaders said attacks on Israelis would continue and might even intensify during Ramadan.

Mahmoud Zahar, a leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, said any action carries special significance during Ramadan, including becoming a "martyr," the term used by many Palestinians for those being killed in an attack on Israelis.

Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group have carried out dozens of suicide attacks in Israel in recent years, with the pace picking up in recent months.

Zahar said there was no prohibition against fighting during Ramadan, noting that throughout history, Muslims waged many battles during the fasting month. He cited a Quran verse permitting Muslims to defend themselves if attacked during Ramadan.

Self-defense should include resistance against foreign occupation and even preventive strikes against enemies, such as the Ramadan surprise attack by Arab armies on Israel during the 1973 Mideast war, Zahar said.

Another Hamas leader, Ismail Abu Shanab, noted that Prophet Muhammad led his followers into combat during Ramadan in the Battle of Badr in 623 A.D., emerging victorious even though his troops were outnumbered.

An Islamic Jihad leader, Nafez Azzam, said he expected greater religious fervor to give new momentum to the Palestinian uprising, or intefadeh. More hours devoted to prayer would inspire Palestinians to "reiterate their commitment to the intefadeh," Azzam said.

Azzam appeared to be reflecting the popular mood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where Palestinian resentment of Israel is growing by the day because of harsh measures, including roadblocks closing off communities. Israel says the closures are meant to thwart terror attacks.

Israel announced Thursday that in a Ramadan gesture, it would ease some travel restrictions and – toward the end of the observances – grant early release to 30 Palestinian security prisoners.

Osama Ayesh, 35, who owns a dry cleaning business in Gaza City, said he felt the conflict with the Israelis was a religious one, and should be stoked during Ramadan. "We should escalate our resistance and burn the ground under the feet of the occupier," said the tall, bearded Ayesh, who served four years in Israeli jails.

But a Muslim preacher in the West Bank town of Nablus, Sheik Zuheir Dibbe, said believers should turn inward, away from worldly concerns. "God didn't choose Ramadan to be a month of jihad (holy war) or war," said Dibbe, who is clean-shaven and wears a suit, instead of the flowing tunic and beard typical of Islamic clerics.

Abu Sway, the Islamic scholar, agreed, saying Muslims should concentrate on battling their inner demons, rather than outside enemies. Ramadan is a time for fasting, praying and reading the Quran – 114 chapters over about 600 pages – in its entirety, said Abu Sway, who teaches at Al Quds University.

Acknowledging the right of self defense during Ramadan, he said: "It's not really a month for fighting, except for fighting evil tendencies."

APNP-11-16-01 0712CST