In New Zealand Ramadan runs for a month over the shortest winter days.

This means MuslimsIn New Zealand fast for just about 11 hours each day — one of the shortest in the world — compared to more than 20 hours in Europe or about 15 hours in the Middle East. Continue reading

Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of of Ramadan. Literally the word means the "Festival of Breaking the Fast."

Because Islamic calendars are lunar, on the 29th day of Ramadan the crescent moon will show whether Eid falls on July 6 or 7.

In the message the President of the PDIC cardinal, Jean-Louis Tauran, said "We join our prayerful good wishes to those of Pope Francis for abundant blessings during Ramadan and for a lasting joy of Eid al-Fitr. Happy Feast to you all!."

Muslims and Christians working together

The message also expresses the hope that "all work together in assisting those in need." It is a source of great hope when we experience or hear of Muslims and Christians joining hands to help the needy."

"When we do join hands, we heed an important command in our respective religions and show forth God's mercy, thus offering a more credible witness, individually and communally, to our beliefs."

How is Eid al-Fitr celebrated?

At Eid al-Fitr people dress in their best clothes, decorate their homes with lights and decorations, give treats to children, and enjoy visits with friends and family.

A sense of generosity and gratitude colors these festivities. As the month draws to a close, Muslims are obligated to share their blessings by feeding the poor and making contributions to mosques.

Rotorua Muslims share with the needy

In Rotorua members of the Muslim community prepared food for those in need at Love Soup Rotorua this last before eating together to show "they [homeless] were not invisible".

Shiffa Harunani says they tried to fast with both their mouths and with their actions, "to be a good human being."

She said she and her husband donated food to charity Love Soup Rotorua each week, but as part of Ramadan they decided to cook the dinner themselves.

They also invited the Muslim community to join in.

Source

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• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: nzherald.co.nz

Sent to mark the Muslim feast of Eid-al-fitr, which ends the Ramadan period, the message encourages prayers and work for peace.

The text of the message reads:

"Dear friends,

"Eid al-fitr draws near. On behalf of the NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations, I wish you all the blessings of this holy feast which ends the sacred time of Ramadan. We have watched and admired the great commitment you have brought to the prayer, fasting and alms-giving required of you during these days, and pray that the spiritual energy gained through your groundedness will bear fruit personally for each of you.

"Along with you, I am sure that your prayer during this last month has been concentrated on asking the common God we know and love to help us bring peace to our world. What is happening in Gaza, Iraq, Syria and many other places leaves us sad because of the many unnecessary deaths, the complexity of the issues involved and the seeming intractability of governments in finding solutions. It asks of us to put our minds and hearts to ways of helping end these conflicts of immense proportions.

"Even more than ever, the commitment in faith that we have must draw us together here in New Zealand to bring tolerance, to developing further clear headed thinking, and to restate to each other our strong desire to build a world where justice finds traction, peace is sought, and harmony between faiths is secured."

It was sent by Fr Kevin Twomey, OP, on behalf of the committee.

Source: Sr Catherine Jones, SMSM

In Palestine, President Mahmoud Abbas placed a wreath on the grave of his predecessor Yasser Arafat.

In France, which has some five million Muslims, the Great Mosque of Paris intervened to settle a disagreement over the start date for Ramadan. There was no such debate over the end as thousands turned out for Eid.

Thousands of kilometres to the east, in the Russian region of Tatarstan they are also celebrating. It is traditional for Muslims to demonstrate unity, often forgiving old wrongs and giving money to the poor.

In Egypt the traditional treats are cookies made with nuts and sugar. This year the country's political crisis has overshadowed the festival and shops have reported poor trade.

In Bangladesh millions of people left the capital Dhaka to return to their home towns to celebrate with families and friends.

Trains and ferries were jam-packed, but most still found a way to board railway carriages or boats somehow.

In Iran, people turned out en masse across the nation for communal prayers shortly after sunrise on Friday.

Among the countries that celebrated the major Islamic holiday on Thursday were Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Syria and several other Middle Eastern nations, including Palestine.

Iran and Iraq, however, are among those Muslim nations that have declared Friday as Eid al-Fitr since the moon crescent which marks the beginning of the new month could not be sighted in those countries by Thursday.

Under the Islamic law, the old month's end is declared only after the new moon crescent is sighted.

Eid al-Fitr also marks the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal that follows the fasting month of Ramadan.

Sources

Al Jazeera

euronews

PressTV

Image: Reuters/Al Jazeera