Yahoo – AFP,
June 6, 2016
 |
| Indonesian Muslims hold prayers to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan at the Al Akbar mosque in Surabaya on June 5, 2016 (AFP Photo/Juni Kriswanto) |
Beirut
(AFP) - More than a billion Muslims observed the start of Ramadan on Monday but
in the besieged cities of Syria and Iraq residents struggled to mark the holy
month.
Islamic
authorities announced the start of the fasting month with the sighting of the
crescent moon in countries such as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Marking the
divine revelation received by Prophet Mohammed, the month sees Muslim faithful
abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk.
They break
the fast with a meal known as iftar and before dawn have a second opportunity
to eat and drink during suhur. The month is followed by the Eid al-Fitr
festival.
But for
many in Syria who have been accustomed to hardship after five years of war,
this year's Ramadan was expected to be especially difficult, particularly in
besieged cities and towns.
In Madaya,
where some 40,000 people have been living under government siege for months,
resident Mumina, 32, and her husband planned to break the fast using UN food
handouts.
The package
contain pulses and tuna cans but "there's no pasta, no meat, no dairy. We
tried to plant some vegetables but the land isn't good for planting now,"
she said.
"There's
barely any food in the markets and whatever we find is so expensive that we
can't buy it," she said, planning a simple meal of beans for Monday night.
Shadi
Matar, an activist from Daraya, also complained that residents would only feed
on greens for iftar.
"We
definitely have a lot of choices," he said trying to put a brave face on
things.
"There's
parsley, radishes, coriander, arugula, spinach, and sometimes we can find
zucchini," he said. "But there are other people who don't even have
these options."
An
estimated 8,000 people live in Daraya which received on June 1 its first aid
delivery since a regime siege began in 2012, but British charity Save the
Children said it excluded desperately needed food.
Queuing
for tomatoes
In the
Iraqi city of Fallujah, father-of-six Abu Mohammed al-Dulaimi also worried
about how to provide food for his family during Ramadan.
Iraqi
forces have tightened a siege around Fallujah as they press a major advance to
retake the city from the Islamic State jihadist group.
An
estimated 50,000 people are believed trapped inside, some being used as human
shields by IS, and the families left behind are often those who could not
afford to leave.
"You
have to get up at 5:00 in the morning and stand in line forever to pay 5,000
dinars ($4.50) for a kilo of tomatoes," said Dulaimi, contacted by AFP
inside Fallujah.
"I
can't even go there myself, I have to send someone, because you need to have a
long beard and a short dishdasha," he said, describing the attire of
jihadists.
In
conflict-hit Libya, residents spoke of a somber mood and complained of the high
cost of food.
"There
are power cuts and cash shortages," said bank employee Karima Mounir.
In some
parts of the world, Muslims were prepared to mark Ramadan with extravagance,
including in the wealthy Gulf monarchies.
Dubai's
sail-shaped landmark Burj al-Arab hotel said it would offer "an array of
delectable traditional delicacies" at iftar for 400 Emirati dirhams ($110)
per person.
 |
A Muslim
woman reads the Quran following noon prayers on the first day of the
holy
fasting month of Ramadan at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia,
Monday, June
6, 2016. During Ramadan, the holiest month on Islamic calendar,
Muslims refrain
from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. (AP
Photo/
Tatan Syuflana)
|
'Bridges
between communities'
In
Indonesia, faithful spent the days leading up to Ramadan taking part in
rituals, including visits to relatives' tombs and swims in springs infused with
flowers.
The
hardline Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) group meanwhile threatened to raid
Indonesian nightspots that flout restrictions during Ramadan.
"Please
respect the holiness of Ramadan," Ja'far Shodiq, the group's deputy
chairman, told AFP. "The FPI is not against fun -- but sometimes fun can
verge on immoral."
In China,
the start of Ramadan was marked with the customary ban on civil servants,
students and children in the mainly Muslim Xinjiang region taking part in the
daytime fast.
Ramadan is
one of the five pillars of Islam and a month during which the faithful must
devote themselves to piety and charity as well as compassion and generosity.
London's
newly-elected Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan underlined this in an article published
on the Guardian's website saying Ramadan "provides an opportunity to break
bread and build bridges between communities".
US
President Barack Obama also celebrated the start of Ramadan in a message paying
tribute to Muslims in America and around the world.
But he also
took a swipe at presidential candidate Donald Trump without naming him, saying:
"We will continue to welcome immigrants and refugees into our nation,
including those who are Muslim."
Trump has
drawn controversy by calling for Muslims to be barred from entering the United
States following a deadly shooting attack in San Bernardino, California in
December.
Shiites in
Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and elsewhere will begin observing Ramadan on Tuesday.
Indonesian Muslims hold prayers to mark the start of Ramadan in Surabaya on June 5 #Ramadan2016 pic.twitter.com/dRocY35h8i— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 6, 2016
TURKEY - The first day of the holy month of Ramadan around the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. By @ozannkosee #AFP pic.twitter.com/sIqSTIWofP— Frédérique Geffard (@fgeffardAFP) June 6, 2016
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