For the latest and complete information see
http://www.islamawareness.net/Ramadhan/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Millions Fast Saturday, Others Sunday
IOL Correspondents
Fri., Sep. 22, 2006

http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-09/22/07.shtml

WORLD CAPITALS — Millions of Muslims across the globe
will observe the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday,
September 24, while others will start the annual fast
a day later.

Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar,
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates announced Friday,
September 23, that moon sighting has been confirmed
and that Ramadan would start on Saturday.

Libya, Sudan, Palestine, Yemen, Nigeria and
Afghanistan also declared Friday as the last day of
Sha`ban and Saturday as the beginning of Ramadan.

Sunnis in both Lebanon and Iraq will start fasting on
Saturday, according to the Sunni religious authorities
in both countries.

In Europe, Muslims in Britain, Denmark, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy, Bosnia and Russia will fast
Saturday.

The Islamic Society of North America decided to follow
the Fiqh Council of North America, an independent body
comprised of qualified scholars in North America, in
determining the start of Ramadan.

According to the calculation criteria adopted by the
Fiqh Council of North America, the first day of
Ramadan will be Saturday.

During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those
traveling, abstain during daylight hours from food,
drink, smoking and sex.

Day Later

Like every year, millions of Muslims in other
countries will start the fasting a day later.

Egypt's Mufti Ali Gomaa said Sunday will be the
beginning of the holy fasting month.

Authorities in Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Tunisia,
Turkey and Malaysia also said the first day of Ramadan
will fall Sunday.

Lebanese Shiites will start fasting Sunday, confirmed
Shiite religious authority Mohamed Hussein Fadlallah.

First day of Ramadan in Kosova will be on Sunday,
announced the Islamic Council of Kosova.

The same applies in Macedonia and Albania.

Muslim minorities in France, Germany and Ukraine will
start fasting on Sunday.

Turkish Muslim communities in the Netherlands and
Belgium said Ramadan will begin on Sunday.

Sunday will also be the beginning of Ramadan also in
Singapore, Albania, Kosovo, Romania, Macedonia and
Trinidad and Tobago.

The European Council for Fatwa and Research has said
that the first day of the holy fasting month of
Ramadan will fall on Sunday, September 24, based on
astronomical calculations.

Moon sighting has always been a controversial issue
among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem at odds
over the issue.

One group says that Muslims everywhere should abide by
the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.

A second, however, believes that the authority in
charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a
given country (such as Egypt's Dar al-Iftaa [House of
Fatwa]) announces the sighting of the new moon, then
Muslims in the country should all abide by this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See the world map on who is fasting when
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-09/22/08.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's much more to Ramadan than fasting
Sep. 23, 2006. 01:00 AM
RAHEEL RAZA
OPINION

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\
ype1&c=Article&cid=1158790224879&call_pageid=970599119419

Driving by Central Parkway and Mavis Rd. in
Mississauga last week, I was pleasantly surprised to
see a huge billboard with the message "Ramadan
Kareen." After 18 years in Canada, seeing a public
sign welcoming the holiest month of my faith makes me
feel warm, fuzzy and wanted.

Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a very
important part of every Muslim's life. My own
participation its observance has changed over the
years. While health reasons preclude my going without
food, I am still inspired and enthused about the
larger spiritual message of this holy month.

Tolerance of hunger, the most obvious part of fasting,
serves as a blessing for a person's journey toward God
as it facilitates enlightenment and knowledge as well
as progress in attaining spiritual perfection. Silence
and self-control create humility, increase will power
and polish the heart and mind, creating an impeccable
"servicing of the soul".

When I wake up before dawn to make food for my family,
the splendour of the rising sun and the chirping of
birds are a reminder of God's blessings. It's only at
this time of the year that I can rise early without
complaint.

Ramadan is a time of giving and mercy, a time to stop
our mad whirl and look inward , to reinforce the good
and get rid of evil in our hearts and minds. It gives
us a huge opportunity to improve ourselves through
self -reflection and soul searching.

Purity of thought and action are the hallmarks of this
month and Muslims think twice before gossiping or
making sarcastic remarks.

The Holy Prophet has said: "Engage yourself in
self-struggle (Jihad-e-Nafs) through the means of
hunger and thirst, whose reward is equivalent to the
reward of those who participated in the armed struggle
for Allah's sake."

Refraining from food, drink, smoking and sex from
sunrise to sunset every day enhances the other senses
so we become more acutely aware of our surroundings.
Many believe it eliminates toxins from the body and
improves one's hair and skin.

Ramadan is also the month in which the Qur'an was
revealed by God to the Prophet Mohammad so reciting
its verses is traditional at this time. I find that
every time I open the Qur'an — I think of it as a
"service manual" for the soul — I learn something new.


The final 10 days of Ramadan are especially devoted to
enhancing spirituality and communal prayer. I remember
my mother making pots of tea and sandwiches so we
could all pray together on these special nights of
forgiveness and remembrance.

Acts of charity are also central to the observance of
Ramadan. Many people give the mandatory charity
required of Muslims during this month so the needy can
also break their fast with nutritious food. This
purifies the heart from selfishness and greed, and
helps us understand the plight of those who lack
life's basic amenities. This charity is not limited to
financial contributions alone, but also includes
charity of the heart to help people, charity of the
mind to reach out to others and charity of the soul to
forgive and move on, to smile at those whom we
perceive to be our enemies and to engage in dialogue
with people of all walks of life.

"Whosoever will perform an obligatory good deed, it is
as if he performed 70 obligatory good deeds," the
Prophet Muhammad said about generous acts during
Ramadan.

"In this month the believers' provision is increased.
Whosoever will give food to a fasting person in this
month, it will bring forgiveness for his sins, will
save him from the hellfire and he shall have his
reward."

Each one of us has something to give and Ramadan is
the time to share and care: feed the hungry, embrace
the marginalized, adopt a newcomer, visit someone who
is ill, listen to the voice of the lonely, disregard
the words of the crabby, reach out to the young and
restless, get coffee for colleagues while fasting, be
non-judgmental, keep our vision broad and benevolent
and constantly thank the Creator for all His
Blessings.

In the spirit of sharing spirituality with all of
God's people, I wish my Jewish friends celebrating
Rosh Hashanah a healthy and happy New Year and my
Muslim brothers and sisters a healthy and spiritually
fulfilling Ramadan.

Raheel Raza is a media consultant and the author of
Your Jihad ... Not My Jihad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deadly beginning to Ramadan in Baghdad
Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:59 AM BST
By Mussab Al-Khairalla

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-09-23\
T075915Z_01_MAC326228_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ.xml

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car bomb killed 26 people in a
Shi'ite militia stronghold in east Baghdad on
Saturday, hours after Sunni Muslims began the fasting
month of Ramadan, which U.S. commanders warn may see a
rise in sectarian bloodshed.

State television, quoting the Defence Ministry
command, flashed the arrest of a man it said was the
leader of one of the most militant Sunni groups, Ansar
al-Sunna, which has been allied with al Qaeda.
However, spokesmen for the ministry and the U.S.
military could not confirm the arrest.

Police said the car bomb blast near a fuel station in
Sadr City, one of the deadliest in recent weeks, also
wounded at least 29 people. It was not immediately
clear whether the vehicle was parked or driven by a
suicide attacker, they said.


U.S. and Iraqi troops have mounted a major security
crackdown since last month in an effort to clamp down
on violence that they warn risks destroying the
four-month-old national unity government through
all-out sectarian civil war.

Sadr City, slum stronghold of the movement of radical
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, had been spared much
of the violence until recent months when Sunni
accusations have grown that his Mehdi Army militia is
among those behind thousands of "death squad"
killings.

Many Sunnis, a majority in the Arab world but a
disaffected minority in Iraq, began to observe the
Ramadan fast on Saturday, a timing dependent on
sightings of the moon. Clerics from Iraq's Shi'ite
Muslim majority have yet to announce the start of the
month but are likely to do so in the next day or two.

A source in the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani, the leading Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, said
it expected to announce late on Sunday that Ramadan
would start on Monday.

U.S. commanders have said that, as in the past three
years, they anticipate an increase in violence during
Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight and spend
more time in prayer.

"MILITANT CAPTURED"

Iraqiya state television said Muntasir al-Jibouri,
which it described as the leader of Ansar al-Sunna,
and two aides, had been captured in Muqdadiya, a town
in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad that has seen
heavy al Qaeda activity.

U.S. forces killed al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi in that region in June and Iraqi and U.S.
officials have announced the arrests of other
militants there since then.

The written newsflash quoted the armed forces high
command, but an official there said he too could not
confirm the report.

Ansar al-Sunna emerged out of an Islamist movement
called Ansar al-Islam, which was based in autonomous
Kurdish northern Iraq during the Sunni-dominated
secular rule of Saddam Hussein.

Ansar al-Sunna came to prominence by releasing film of
beheadings of foreign hostages and also claimed a
suicide bombing at a U.S. military canteen in Mosul in
December 2004 that killed more than 20 people,
including 19 Americans.

Apparent successes against Sunni militants who have
attacked occupying U.S. forces and the Shi'ite-led
government for the past three years, have come at a
time when U.S. commanders warn of a growing risk of
sectarian civil war involving Shi'ite and Sunni armed
groups. Dozens of people die in Baghdad every day.

The U.S. commander of troops in the capital said on
Friday that U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers do not want to
leave other parts of their country to serve in
Baghdad, leaving security efforts in the capital short
by 3,000 Iraqi troops.

"I would tell you I need more Iraqi security forces,"
Major General James Thurman said.

Six Iraqi army battalions -- roughly 500 soldiers each
-- that he has requested to reinforce Baghdad have not
been provided by the Iraqi government, he added,
because the troops do not want to go to the violent
city.

"The government is trying to come to grips with the
security needs," Thurman said.

"Baghdad's security hinges on the capabilities of the
Iraqi security forces," Thurman added, arguing against
putting more U.S. troops in Baghdad.

(Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Ahmed
Rasheed)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Malaysia Prices Soaring Before Ramadan
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
Sat., Sep. 23, 2006

http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-09/23/01.shtml

KUALA LUMPUR — One day before the start of the holy
fasting month of Ramadan, Malaysians Muslims are
complained that prices of fish, prawns, chicken and
vegetables have all shot up, forcing some of them to
take a second job for an extra income to meet the
needs of their families.

"This has dampened my mood. I have to be cautious in
my spending," Siti Nora, a 35-year-old businesswoman,
told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Saturday, September
23.

Siti blamed the high prices on traders taking
advantage of a sharp fuel and cooking gas hike in
February.

"The market was crowded. Traders know consumers have
no choice so they push up prices,' she said. "It is a
strain on my purse."

The country began preparations for Ramadan with
crowded food markets after scholars confirmed that the
holy fasting month would start Sunday, September 24.

Streets in the capital Kuala Lumpur have already taken
on a new image with colorful bazaars made up of
hundreds of makeshift tents offering a taste of
traditional delicacies.

For Malaysian Muslims, like others worldwide, the
beginning of the ninth month in the Muslim lunar
calendar which marks is a time for spiritual
reflection, prayers and feasting.

Adult Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking and
having sex between dawn and sunset.

The daily fast is broken with an evening meal called
the iftar, after which many Muslims attend special
congregational nightly prayers, known as Tarwih.

Extra Income

Ramadan also provides an opportunity for many to earn
extra income ahead of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations
which marks the end of the fasting month.

Mohamad Farid Ismail, who works in a factory where
salaries are usually low, has applied for a month-long
leave so he can operate a stall that would bring in
more money.

"My wife does not work and it is quite difficult for
us when it comes to Eid celebration as we have three
children," he said.

Malaysia's population of 26 million is dominated by
some 60 percent Muslim Malays. Chinese and Indians
make up 26 percent and eight percent respectively.

Millions of Muslims across the globe will observe the
holy month of Ramadan on Saturday, September 24, while
others will start the annual fast a day later.

Moon sighting has always been a controversial issue
among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem at odds
over the issue.

One group says that Muslims everywhere should abide by
the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.

A second, however, believes that the authority in
charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a
given country (such as Egypt's Dar al-Iftaa [House of
Fatwa]) announces the sighting of the new moon, then
Muslims in the country should all abide by this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Nasrallah' the Hot Date in Cairo's Ramadan Markets

http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/story/D0BE02AA9E984FCDC22571EF003\
2C813?OpenDocument

Cairo fruit-sellers have a tradition of giving
nicknames to their selections of dates before Ramadan
and this year the Hizbullah leader topped the
unofficial popularity ratings, with the 'Nasrallah'
the most expensive in town.
The charismatic Shiite cleric, who earned great
support from Arabs during his group's month-long war
with Israel, surpassed the presidents of Iran and
Venezuela -- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez --
two other prominent Israeli foes.

"There's no doubt, it is 'Nasrallah the victorious'
who gets first place," said Abdou Kashush, who has 60
kilograms of different types of dates laid out in
little piles on his stall in the popular Cairo market
of Rod el-Farag.

Emulating the Prophet Mohammed, Muslims traditionally
eat a date and drink milk to break the dawn-to-dusk
fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, whose
beginning is set according to the sighting of the
moon.

This year, a kilogram of "Nasrallah" dates goes for 24
Egyptian pounds (4.20 dollars, 3.30 euros), while
"Ahmadinejad" dates sell for 18 pounds (3.14 dollars)
and "Chavez" dates for 14 (2.44).

The two presidents, whose opposition to Israel and the
United States have earned them vast popular support in
Egypt, will have to wait another year before they can
hope to succeed French President Jacques Chirac and
the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the
Ramadan dates hall of fame.

Equally predictable was Ehud Olmert's poor performance
on the dates market, with the Israeli premier duly
succeeding Ariel Sharon in lending his name to the
cheapest date on the market at 1.5 pounds.

There was no date bearing the name of Pope Benedict
XVI, whose use last week of a medieval quotation
describing some of the Prophet Mohammed's teachings as
"evil and inhuman" caused a public uproar in many
Muslim countries.

Kashush, who even pinned a poster of Nasrallah on his
stall, explained that political nicknames appeared
after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United
States, when one of the best varieties of dates was
dubbed "Bin Laden."

"In the past, we'd use names from movie stars," he
said.

Karim Ghazi, another fruit-seller at the Rod el-Farag
market, said "the supply and quality of dates this
year is generally on the rise while prices have gone
down slightly."

"The Nasrallah date is not cheap however and even if
it only represents around one percent of my sales, I'm
expecting to make a hefty profit," he added,
displaying his own poster of the Shiite leader.

Egypt is the world's top date producer with 1.1
million tons a year, accounting for 16 percent of
world production, ahead of Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In Egypt, the fasting month is expected to start on
September 23 or 24.(AFP)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iran takes to the skies for Ramadan
Saturday 23 September 2006, 10:39 Makka Time, 7:39 GMT


http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/19C60247-DBA5-46B9-92A2-1E646CBFC5CC.htm

Iran is using an aeroplane to spot the crescent moon
to signal the start of the holy month of Ramadan as
several other Muslim countries began fasting on
Saturday.


A fatwa from the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme
leader of Iran, two years ago ruled that looking at
the moon with technical aids was valid, prompting many
people to start using telescopes.

This year, however, the authorities are taking the
idea even further.

"Since seeing the crescent with an 'armed eye' was
allowed by the supreme leader, this year, as the year
before, we are going to use the best equipment and
means available for our experts to spot the moon," an
official said. "And for the first time this year we
are going to use the aeroplane."

The weather, light pollution and smog can make
moon-spotting difficult with the naked eye sometimes
leading to different opinions over the beginning and
end of the ninth month in the Muslim lunar calendar.

Last year, some religious leaders in the city of Qom
announced the end of Ramadan one day before the office
of the supreme leader.

Religious officials expect Ramadan in Iran to start on
Sunday or Monday.

Fasting

The holy sites of Haram al-Sharif in Makka and the
Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madina, both in
Saudi Arabia, began fasting on Saturday.

Religious authorities in Kuwait, Qatar and the United
Arab Emirates also announced that Ramadan would start
on September 24 after the new moon was spotted after
nightfall.

Muammar al-Qadhafi, the Libyan leader, was quoted by
the state news agency on Thursday as saying that
Muslims should take their cue from "Libya's correct
Islam" and begin their fast on Saturday.

"People in Arab and Muslim countries are turning to
Libya to know when Ramadan begins and ends because
Libya is the state that observes the correct Islam
without sects," he said.

Lunar calendar

Islam follows a lunar calendar which means that the
months of the year are measured according to the
revolutions of the moon around the earth - each month
begins with the sighting of the new moon.

Because the lunar calendar is approximately 11 days
shorter than the solar calendar used elsewhere Islamic
holidays are at slightly different times each year.

For more than one billion Muslims around the world
Ramadan is a "month of blessing" marked by prayer,
fasting, and charity.

Ramadan has special significance since it is the month
in which Muslims show empathy towards the poor by
practicing sawm, or fasting, eating and drinking
nothing during daylight hours.

Meals

During Ramadan in the Muslim world, most restaurants
are closed during the day. Families get up early for a
light meal, called suhoor, eaten before the sun rises.

After the sun sets, the fast is broken with a meal
known as iftar. Iftar usually begins with dates and
sweet drinks that provide a quick energy boost.

Fasting serves many purposes. Self-discipline is one
of the primary objectives of the fast in which all
physical contact between husband and wife is also
abandoned in daylight hours for the duration of
Ramadan.

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. The
others are: belief in one God (Shahaadah); prayer
(Salaah) - five times a day at its appointed times;
alms-giving (Zakaat) - 2.5% of fixed assets annually;
and pilgrimage (Haj) to Makka at least once in a
lifetime.
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