The evening gathering on April 5 drew about 30 people representing both congregations. As the Masjid Muhammad Mosque, located a few blocks away, is undergoing a building expansion and renovation, Holy Redeemer has opened up its lower church hall for its Muslim neighbours to have their Jumah Friday prayer there.

In addition to participating in the interfaith discussion on fasting, two imams from Masjid Muhammad led men and women from their mosque in the Maghrib call to prayer at sunset and then in the Iftar fast-breaking evening meal, which they shared with the Holy Redeemer parishioners and guests.

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In the spring of 2019, after a series of high profile attacks on Muslim people in New York City and a reported rise in Islamophobia, I felt compelled to act in tangible solidarity with this vulnerable and targeted community.

It just so happened that Ramadan was starting the next day. I decided I would observe its discipline of fasting as a way of accompaniment and solidarity.

I knew this sacred time in the Islamic tradition meant abstaining from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset, but I discovered it was even more rigorous.

You fast from dawn—that is, even before the sun rises—until sunset.

It also did not occur to me then that when Ramadan (the dates of which are determined by a lunar calendar) falls in the spring, with each passing day, sunrise comes earlier and sunset moves later.

Unlike Lent, where the tendency is to count down the days to Easter—or to look forward to the permissible reprieve on Sundays, when the Lenten penance can be suspended — fasting gradually becomes harder through the duration of Ramadan.

Years later, I still observe this sacred Islamic time's practice of fasting. It heightens my awareness of the afflictions that so many are forced to endure and the ways our world still needs healing.

Two years ago, for example, I used the Ramadan fast to pray for the people of Ukraine, and also to become more aware of the little things I take for granted.

I could, for example, turn on my faucet in the morning and expect water would run. For millions of people in Ukraine, that was and still is not something they can assume.

I was also able to teach my classes at Fordham uninterrupted. Many children in Ukraine are still unable to go to school.

That's the gift of fasting; it attunes us with a deeper level of reality. The discipline of fasting helps me to see the world as God sees it.

Fasting has helped me to look at the world around me in a new way: We are all vulnerable, but we are not all vulnerable in the same way or to the same degree.

The American way of life

The first two weeks of my first Ramadan fast, I felt kind of proud of myself.

"I can actually do this!" I thought. But it gradually became more mentally and physically exhausting.

I learned, as I read more about Ramadan, that it was not simply about the external practice of refraining from food or liquids.

Ramadan, for Muslims, is a time to become aware of all that is going on around you so that you can come closer to God (or Allah, as the Holy One is named in Islam).

The hunger pains experienced are supposed to help the one fasting become more aware of those who go hungry without choice.

What I voluntarily endure over this annual month-long daytime fasting period is something so many in our world endure without choice.

However hungry or depleted I might feel, I can eagerly anticipate the end of the day when I can break the fast. For far too many the burdens of hunger will only increase as their bodies consistently go without food.

The American way of life is one that avoids the reality of vulnerability. We don't like to dwell on the fact that many people wonder where their next meal is coming from. We presume we are to live a comfortable lifestyle. Read more

• The Rev. Bryan N. Massingale is a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and a professor of theological and social ethics at Fordham University.

With COVID-19 restrictions preventing Barcelona's Islamic population from celebrating Ramadan at the usual indoor venues, Santa Anna church came to the rescue.

Every evening between 50 and 60 Muslims, many of them homeless, stream into the centuries-old stone passages of the church, where volunteers offer a hearty meal of home-cooked food.

"We are all the same. If you are Catholic or of another religion and I am Muslim, that's fine," said Hafid Oubrahim, a 27-year-old Moroccan of Berber descent who attends the dinners.

"We are all like brothers, and we must help each other too."

During the month of Ramadan, observant Muslims do not eat between sunrise and sundown. They break their fast only after nightfall with a meal known as Iftar.

Faouzia Chati, president of the Catalan Association of Moroccan Women, used to organize Iftar gatherings in the city. But limits on indoor dining forced her to seek an alternative space with good ventilation and room for distancing.

She found a receptive ear in Father Peio Sanchez, Santa Anna's rector. Sanchez sees the meeting of different faiths as emblematic of civic coexistence.

"People are very happy that Muslims can do Iftar in a Catholic church. Religions should serve to unite us, not to separate us," said Chati.

"Even with different cultures, different languages, different religions, we are more capable of sitting down and talking than some politicians," said the rector.

Sources

LiCAS News

Reuters

We live in the Holy Land, in Ramallah, right next door to a mosque.

The mosques are all closed now, although we hear the call to prayer throughout the day.

But this time the words bellowing from the loudspeaker are different and it strikes me every single time I hear them.

Instead of saying come to prayer in Arabic they say pray in your homes.

The call to prayer is something I've heard for my entire life and it's so innate for Muslims. The first time I heard this new version I got goosebumps because I thought—wait, you can't change that.

The Palestinian territories are already dealing with occupation by Israel, three generations worth of people living in refugee camps and now we also have the coronavirus pandemic to consider.

We just don't have the resources to be able to cope if the coronavirus were to spread widely.

There are only about 100 ICU beds in the entire West Bank and not enough ventilators, either.

That's probably why the government acted quickly and aggressively.

Shortly after an outbreak among a group of religious tourists and hotel workers in Bethlehem, authorities moved to shut down the entire West Bank, shuttering both schools and workplaces.

Luckily, we seem to have been relatively spared so far.

The government here mounted a better response than the U.S. It's strange to see the difference between the two places when usually the health disparities are the other way around. (I moved from New York City a few years ago to help strengthen health systems here.)

I'm not an ICU or Emergency Room doctor so I'm not on the frontlines of dealing with the coronavirus.

But because so many facilities, including outpatient clinics, have shut down, I've been doing a lot of general paediatrics work to relieve some of the strain on the health care system.

People are terrified to go to emergency rooms right now.

The health care system here is already stretched thin even without a global pandemic.

I'm working from home for the most part and doing a lot of telemedicine calls.

A few times a week, I typically have to step out to see sick kids but I take precautions.

I have an N95 mask and wear a pair of scrubs that I strip off as soon as I come through the door.

I immediately take a shower before having any contact with the family.

This year is such a huge exception.

Normally, people are breaking their fast in groups.

Whether you break your fast at a mosque or in someone else's home, there's a collective feeling that you will be with people who have been sharing the same struggle and experience of Ramadan.

I didn't realize the importance of community during Ramadan so strongly until this year, when it has been taken away from us. Continue reading

In 2020 however, these traditions will not be able to happen. Read more

The Vatican is calling on Christians and Muslims worldwide to promote human fraternity and harmonious existence by building bridges of friendship and promoting a culture of dialogue where violence is rejected and the human person is respected. Read more

The had the meal just after the sunset at 5.10pm.

As a practising Muslim observing Ramadan, which coincidentally finished on Saturday evening, he feels the fasting process is beneficial to his mind and body as well as his spiritual well-being.

Muslims do not eat during the hours of daylight during Ramadan.

After being named in the Blues team to play the Lions, Williams said he found the fasting easiest.

"It's just when I have to train. Getting through the field-based footy is easy, and I just push back the weights until I break fast."

The fact that Ramadan occurs in the winter in New Zealand means the hours of daylight are not as long as they are in the northern hemisphere.

"But thank God in New Zealand, in this part of the world, we only fast nine hours a day - 10 hours max. In Europe and some parts of the world it's 16-18 hours. That's pretty tough.' says Williams.

"The first week is the toughest, but after that the body starts to get used to it. I just try and do the best I can."

Williams showed no ill effects of not eating or drinking anything during daylight hours when he played on in the test on Saturday or when his Blues team upset the Lions in their second tour match two weeks ago.

The former league player, has been a sometimes controversial figure for his single-mindedness and willingness to forge his own path in life.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• dailytelegraph.com.au
• Image: radionz.co.nz

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

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

Ramadan has begun for Muslims and adherents, like Eastham, will fast from dawn until dusk each day over a 30-day period.

Because Ramadan runs over the shortest winter days in New Zealand, Muslims here will have one of the shortest fasting times in the world - just 11 hours each day compared to more than 20 hours in Europe or about 15 hours in the Middle East. Continue reading

According to the extremists, the Protestant group was not authorised to organise any public activity, especially, they claimed, since Ramadan had begun on 18 June, and public activities that violate the sacred nature of the holy month are not allowed.

Elsewhere an Indonesian born Muslim has gained worldwide recognition for his dedication to peace and tolerance.

Imam Shamsi Ali is an Indonesian born Muslim who says "I've been known informally as the face of moderate Islam in the west."

He is the founder of the New York based Nusantara Foundation.

Nusantara is an Indonesian word for archipelago.

The Indonesian archipelago, or cluster of islands is composed of six thousand islands.

Indonesia hosts three hundred ethnic groups and seven hundred and forty languages all under one flag.

Raised in rural Indonesia, Ali studied in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia before immigrating to the United States in 1996 at age 29, whereupon he earned a PhD in political science.

"We are committed to promoting a peaceful and moderate of Islam….Islam Nusantara is the form of Islam that reflects the deep, universal characteristic of Rahmatan lil-alamin, or 'merciful blessing for all humankind,'" he says.

"Islam Nusantara emphasizes friendship, peace, and love."

"We firmly believe it is time to replace the rigid, narrow, obsolete, and cruel public images of Islam with an alternative — the Islam that is friendly, sociable, rational, visionary, and capable of advancing friendship and cooperation above antagonism and conflict."

Source

• asianews.it
• israelnationalnews.com
• Image: scout.org

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Committee for Interfaith Relations, have written a letter of support addressed "our Muslim brothers and sisters" offering them "best wishes for a blessed and holy Ramadan."

"Catholics share with you a commitment to spiritual growth, self-improvement and solidarity with the human family."

"In his first Ramadan message, Pope Francis said that the offer of good wishes on the occasion of our neighbour's religious celebration is a way for us to share their joy," said the writer, Carlo David, writing on behalf of the committee.

"In that fraternal spirit, we look forward to sharing an Iftar meal with you during this holy month and in this sharing, we look forward to deepening our understanding of each other and strengthening our warm relationship."

Ramadan is the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar.

It is the time when all members of the Muslim faith commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to the prophet Mohammad.

Although it is a month of fasting when no food or drink is taken between sunrise and sundown, Ramadan is also a time of spiritual reflection, improvement and increased devotion and worship.

Last Saturday in Auckland residents held a night market in Mount Roskill to bring together Muslims and non-Muslims to celebrate.

One of the organisers, 31-year-old Mohamed Jaballah, said it was about bringing together the melting-pot that is the Muslim community.

"We are so diverse. We are literally from all over the world."

He said this diversity was what made the community so unique, and with so much to offer.

The invitation was also extended to those outside the community, and Mr Jaballah said events like these would allow the public to get to know real Muslims.

"It's always a positive thing to see non-Muslims coming to these events, to interact with us and to see real Muslims, not the Muslims you see on TV, but actually us."

He said he had seen many non-Muslims attending the event with friends, and even coming along on their own.

Source

• Supplied
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: radionz.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

Muslims in New Zealand will this year be fasting just 11 hours during Ramadan while their counterparts in the Northern Hemisphere will be going without food for over 20 hours.

Zain Ali, head of the University of Auckland's Islamic studies research unit, said this was because the Islamic holy month will fall during mid-winter when the days are shorter. Continue reading

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

For 30 days, starting this year on July 9, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, and abstain from smoking, swearing and sex. But believers in New Zealand would have spent far less time fasting than Islamic followers elsewhere.

Up to 10,000 Muslims are expected to unite at ASB Showgrounds to celebrate the third annual Auckland Eid Day on 9 or 10 August 2013 (lunar dependant), from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Muslims from across Auckland as well as members of the non-Muslim community have been invited to attend the joyous Eid al-Fitr festival. During Eid al-Fitr, Muslims come together in celebration of both spiritual observance through prayer and charity, as well as merriment and achievement marking the end of the 30-day fast through the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

When Ramadan falls is calculated by the lunar Islamic calendar, which means it moves about 11 days every year on the Gregorian date, which follows the solar calendar.

Islam is the third-fastest-growing religion in New Zealand and growth in Auckland is twice as fast as anywhere else in the country.

Making up 0.001 per cent of New Zealand's population in 1986, Muslims rose to 1.8 per cent by 2006.

Today, the Federation of Islamic Associations estimates the number of Muslims here to be between 50,000 and 60,000, with 11 mosques and more than 20 Islamic centres.

The diversity of the local Muslim population - from Africans, Indians and Southeast Asians to Middle Easterners - made it impossible to describe a typical fast-breaking meal, said association president Anwar Ghani.

"We share a common faith and Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, but Muslims in New Zealand, most of whom are immigrants, are a truly diverse lot," Dr Ghani said.

"Even what we call the festival is different. For example, Malaysian Muslims would often refer to Eid as Hari Raya."

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• Scoop.co.nz

"We are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values," Pope Francis said in a statement. "We have to bring up our young people to think and speak respectfully of other religions and their followers," he said.

"As an expression of esteem and friendship for all Muslims," the pontiff personally sign his good wishes on the feast of Id al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, a month of prayer and fasting.

"It's not the first time that a pontiff has signed the message by his own hand," said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi. "But it certainly shows Francis' particular attention to relations with the Muslim world."

In an first address to the Diplomatic Corps, the pope stressed the importance of intensifying dialogue among the various faiths, "particularly dialogue with Islam."

Sources

The New York Times

Christian Post

Christian News Network

Image: Reuters/Christian Post

According to the Vatican's point man for dialogue with Islam, Ramadan is also an opportunity for Catholics to learn from Muslims' example of obedience to the Almighty — and thereby strengthen their own Catholic faith.

Msgr. Khaled Akasheh runs the section for relations with Muslims at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, an office founded by Pope Paul VI in 1964, during the Second Vatican Council.

One of the most important aspects of Vatican II, Msgr. Akasheh told Catholic News Service, was that "the church accepted all that is right and beautiful in religions." The council thus fostered a culture in which theological disagreement did not mean disrespect for what others hold sacred.

Even half a century later, however, many Catholics perceive a tension between the need to respect other religious traditions and Christ's call to bring his truth to all people.

"Managing mission and dialogue is perhaps the major theological challenge" in communicating with other faiths, Msgr. Akasheh said.

Catholic experts engaged in dialogue do not make any "explicit appeal to others to embrace our religion, but this doesn't mean that we are not faithful to our faith and our mission, because in dialogue we say what we are," he said.

For Msgr. Akasheh, who was born in Jordan and has taught at the seminary of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, dialogue is a process of witnessing to one's own beliefs, learning about others and sharing common concerns.

Pope Benedict XVI's famous 2006 speech in Regensburg, Germany, was part of that process, he said.

The pope's quotation in the speech of a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who had described the legacy of the prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman" provoked violent reactions in much of the Islamic world. Read more

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• Image: Quran Reading

Yet for some the UK is more receptive to Ramadan than others.

Shanon Shah, a Malaysian who is currently studying for an MA at Kings College London, describes how in Australia, fasting was difficult due to a hostile reception from non-Muslims.

"My time there was soured a bit by encounters with several individuals who were very anti-Islam. It was really difficult to practise Ramadan in an environment where so many non-Muslims were not sensitive to us."

However, since coming to the UK he has found it easier. "There's a much more diverse and vibrant Muslim community here. However, I still find nothing beats Ramadan in Malaysia."

For Rizwana Monir, who was born and raised in the East London suburb of Tower Hamlets, the only form of Ramadan she has ever known is that practised in the UK. Yet she still feels it would be easier in a Muslim country.

"In Pakistan everybody observes Ramadan and comes together to work for the same goals. It makes one individual's battle easier."

In order to stay focused, she devotes herself to studying the Qur'an and only engages with the media to "learn more about God."

But importantly, for both of them, living in the UK has not meant Ramadan has lost its relevance, and still plays a crucial role in their spiritual lives as Muslims.

When asked what the practice meant to them personally, many younger Muslims still described it in the traditional terms of

• abstaining from sin,
• feeling empathy with the poor and
• drawing closer to God.

Yet for Shah, Ramadan is about much more than this.

Continue reading more of "Young Muslims and Ramadan"

Source:

• Image: Muslim Village

This is the outcome of a University of Queensland research that identifies some self-inflicted pain helps ease the psychological burden of immoral behaviour.

Researchers wanted to test the hypothesis that people seek out pain as a response to their own immoral behaviour and found that punishment actually reduced guilt.

Chief researcher, Dr Brock Bastian said the research helped in the understanding of how people make sense of pain.

"Self-inflicted pain can be used to right the judicial scales and communicating remorse to others, or God if you are religious."

"Is it something that is being fed to them through a culture that has Christian values embedded, or is it a more basic thing?," he asks.

"There are reasons to suspect that it is more basic. We often use our early experiences of the world to make sense of higher concepts and I think the link between punishment and pain is something that is very hard to disentangle."

History identifies self-flagellation, wearing of hair shirts and religious festivals such as Ramadan or Lent are all examples of ritualised pain.

Source
ABC Science
Image: Clare McCormack