Ramadan
20
10
10
By Christophe de Roquefeuil
CAIRO
– Muslims will begin fasting for an espe-
cially gruelling month of Ramadan this week amid
sweltering heat and extremely long daylight hours.
Muslims observe the ninth month of the lunar
Islamic calendar by abstaining from food, drink and
sex from dawn until sunset during Ramadan.
It is expected to start on Wednesday through-
out much of the world or a day later,
depending on the sighting of the cres-
cent moon the night before.
Pregnant and menstruating women,
the sick, travellers and prepubescent
children are exempt from the fast,
which is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Ramadan will begin amid scorching
temperatures in the Middle East and
elsewhere, with the first six months of
2010 being the warmest ever recorded.
Egypt, the largest Arab country
whose 80 million population is mostly
Muslim, will switch to winter time for
the month.
In Dubai, a cleric told workmen they
are religiously allowed to break their
fast if the heat got the better of them.
Most fasting Muslims go about their
business as usual, if skimping an hour
or two from work. Sleeping well into
the day, although not technically a fast
breaker, is considering cheating by some clerics.
Pieties increase, with additional optional
prayers in the evening. Often, so does the evening
and nighttime revelry for those able to peel them-
selves away from the special Ramadan television
series in the evenings.
The month is marked by family visits and invi-
tations to sumptuous iftars – the meal that breaks
the fast.
Festivities can last into the early morning, to
the consternation of traditional clerics who stress
the ascetic nature of the month, in which Mus-
lims believe God revealed the Quran to the
Prophet Mohammed.
Egypt, which depends on tourism, is offering
rich Arab holidaymakers fireworks, concerts, folk-
loric shows and displays by whirling dervishes.
But given the family-centered traditions of the
month, enticing people to leave their countries is
a tough sell.
Egypt's bars and pubs either close during the
month or switch to abstemious menus, with the
exception of hotel bars, which serve alcohol only
to non-Egyptians to conformwith the Islamic ban
on alcohol.
Dubai, one of the most popular Middle East
cities for party-goers, closes its nightclubs or bans
dancing in them.
Consumption of alcohol in the United Arab
Emirates is officially allowed only for non-Mus-
lims. But in practice, anyone can drink at licensed
hotels and clubs. During Ramadan, hotels close
off their bars from public view.
"There are tourists and non-Muslims in the
country and they can go to closed bars in which
they can be served alcohol during Ramadan," di-
rector of Dubai government's inspection and
tourism permit section, Mohammed Khalifa, told
AFP.
"It is not permitted to hold entertainment ac-
tivities, celebrations, or parties at any
time throughout the holy month of
Ramadan," the government said in an
August 2 circular.
Indonesia, the most populous Mus-
lim country, will take the opportunity
to crack down on Internet pornogra-
phy.
Quoting a poem at a press confer-
ence on Tuesday, Communications
Minister Tifatul Sembiring called on
Muslims to "keep hearts clean in the
holy month" and said that he would
target websites and media that carried
sexual content.
Despite the fasting, some clerics
complain that people end up piling on
the pounds during the month, as they
over-indulge to compensate for the
fasting. The consumption contributes
to price hikes.
In Mauritania, the government an-
nounced "urgent measures" against the increase.
The global rise in food prices, coupled with the
Ramadan spike, also means that less can afford a
traditional theme of the month – charity.
Long iftar tables set with free stews and bread
that were commonplace in Cairo have been no-
ticeably decreasing over the past two years, with
many hosts saying they can't afford it anymore.
Reprinted fromMiddle East International, August 10, 2010
An officer of Malaysia's Islamic authority performs "rukyah", sighting of the new moon of Ramadan, in Putrajaya outside Kuala Lumpur August 10, 2010. Muslims scan the sky
at dusk in the beginning of the lunar calendar's ninth month in search of the new moon to proclaim the start of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month during which observant be-
lievers fast from dawn to dusk. Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan with the Eid al-Fitr festival.
REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad
A long, hot
Ramadan for
many devout
Muslims
A woman looks at traditional lanterns called "fanous" in a shop that sells
lanterns in old Cairo, a fewdays before the start of theMuslimholymonth
of Ramadan, August 8, 2010.
REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih
