religion
The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan begins
Muslims pray in the mosque of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Kilani. photo
© Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa
The fasting month of Ramadan begins for Muslims. The holy month is overshadowed by the Gaza war.
Overshadowed by the Gaza war, the first day of the war begins for millions of Muslims around the world Ramadan is their week-long fasting period. In Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, among others, this Monday was declared the first day of the month of fasting. The date depends on the appearance of the new crescent moon and can therefore vary slightly from country to country.
During Ramadan, observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex for a month from dawn to dusk. In the evening people traditionally meet to break their fast together. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.
It is estimated that there are around 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide. Most of them live in Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In the Arab region, Saudi Arabia is home to Islam’s two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina.
No agreement on a ceasefire
The month of fasting is overshadowed by developments in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli military operation against the Islamist Hamas has been underway since the beginning of October. Qatar, Egypt and the USA have been negotiating a temporary ceasefire for weeks. The mediators had hoped to reach an agreement by the start of Ramadan. However, representatives of Hamas, Qatar and the USA had already left the Egyptian capital Cairo after talks before the start of Ramadan.
According to Egyptian information, the talks will continue next week. In addition to a ceasefire, it is also about the release of Israeli hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas.
Many people in Muslim countries are also increasingly struggling with skyrocketing food prices. According to the World Bank, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey were among the ten countries most affected by domestic food price inflation in 2023. The majority of Muslims live in all three countries.
According to analysts in Turkey, fewer and fewer Turks can afford enough food for a sufficiently set table for the traditional breaking of the fast. Turkey’s official annual food inflation was 71.1 percent in February. The situation in Lebanon is also oppressive. According to the United Nations World Food Program, almost half of Lebanese households are unable to pay for enough food or food of adequate quality.