JEDDAH, 16 November — The Kingdom and most Gulf Arab states marked the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan last night.
Authorities in the Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar said the crescent moon had been sighted after nightfall heralding the start of the lunar month.
Oman did not observe a moon and the sultanate will start the fasting month tomorrow.
Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during the blessed month of Ramadan to rejuvenate their faith and strengthen their unity. It is a month of spirituality, magnanimity, forgiveness and brotherhood.
Ramadan is the symbol of peace, charity and righteousness as the faithful compete with one another engaging in philanthropic and humanitarian activities as well as other virtuous deeds to win God’s reward. Ramadan also marks the beginning of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. The faithful abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk during the month.
The government has made all preparations to welcome the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who visit Makkah and Madinah during the month. Last night, the two holy mosques overflowed with worshippers who came to attend the Taraweeh prayers and will continue to be so throughout the month.
In Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states daytime will grow quiet with the start of Ramadan. Government offices will close early. Stores will only open in the afternoon, then close at prayer time, only to reopen after people have broken their fast. For the rest of the night, the streets will bustle with activity.
The Interior Ministry has called upon non-Muslims to respect the feelings of Muslims by abstaining from eating and drinking in public during the daytime of the holy month. It has warned that violators of the rule will face severe punishment including deportation.
Works of charity, zakat, and other voluntary fund-raising increase manifold over Ramadan as Muslims consider doing good more appropriate in the holy month.
The Gulf countries have multiplied efforts to aid Afghan refugees from the US-led war on the Taleban as well as the destitute and needy elsewhere in the Muslim world with the approach of the holy month.
“Help the Palestinians and the Afghan people,” reads a bold-lettered banner hanging down the front of a charity association in the emirate of Sharjah.
The advent of the fasting month, traditionally a time when sentiments of Islamic brotherhood, solidarity and sympathy are emphasized, has seen similar messages emerge throughout the region.
Hundreds of charity associations, often supported by rich businessmen, have doubled their efforts to collect donations in the wake of the military offensive against Afghanistan.
“We’re receiving all sorts of aid: money, blankets and clothes, as well as food and medicines. Our brothers, the Afghan refugees really need them,” said one worker at the Dubai branch of the Emirates Red Crescent.
“Our Afghan brothers are victims of war and poverty. There are millions who’ll die ... with the onset of the cold season,” said 50-year-old Syrian volunteer Mohammad Kassem.
Another Emirati volunteer said Ramadan made “every good Muslim stress solidarity with other Muslims.”
“If we’re unable to stop the war in Afghanistan, the least we can do is come to the aid of a population in distress,” he said. “Our religion demands us to show discretion in similar cases.”
The United Arab Emirates has already delivered more than 1,400 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and built a camp able to house 40,000 Afghan refugees, according to a local Red Crescent spokesman.
The UAE has also announced the launch of a “daily” air bridge with the western Pakistani city of Quetta, close to the Afghan border.
A telethon held by Saudi TV last month raised SR150 million ($40 million), including donations from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.
Saudi charity associations become particularly active during Ramadan, a time when hundreds of thousands of Muslims from the world over travel to the Kingdom to perform the Umrah and visit the Prophet’s Mosque.
“The war in Afghanistan as well as Israel’s bloody repression of the Palestinian intifada, reinforces feelings of solidarity among Muslims,” one local analyst said.
To coordinate the humanitarian aid for Afghan refugees, Gulf charity associations met this week in Riyadh under the auspices of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
