Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of prayer and fasting

Nearly a billion and a half Muslims worldwide this week begin the annual holy month of Ramadan, a time of prayer and fasting that commemorates the divine revelation received by the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim Hijri calendar, during which the faithful abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex during daylight and, in the evening, eat small meals and visit friends and family.

It is a month of piety, alms-giving and fasting in order to instil the body and spirit with the rigours of abstinence, a time of worship and contemplation and to strengthen family and community ties.

Observing Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, the others being the shahada or profession of faith, the obligation to pray five times a day, the giving of alms or zakat and going on pilgrimage to Mecca, the hajj.

The onset of Ramadan, which is determined by observing the crescent moon or by astronomical calculations, can vary from country to country.

Under the Hijri calendar, which has 11 days fewer than the Gregorian, Ramadan will begin this year -- the year 1431 -- on August 10 or 11.

The first day of the holy month is decided by the sighting of the crescent moon by the naked eye. Theologians and scholars gather every year to determine the onset of Ramadan, which varies across the globe according to location.

All post-puberty Muslim believers are expected to fast during Ramadan, and even though children are exempt, it is recommended that they become accustomed to the practice progressively.

Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, the sick and travellers all have the right not to observe the fast, but they must do so as soon as they are able.

It is traditional to break the fast after sunset with a meal known as iftar, consisting of dates and goat's milk, as the Prophet is said to have done. The last meal before dawn is known as suhur.

The holy month ends with feasting and gifts on Islam's biggest festival, Eid al-Fitr.

Pilgrims flock to Islam's holiest sites at Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan, especially on the last 10 days of the month. The holiest night is on day 27, marking the revelation of the Koran to the Prophet in 610 AD.
Source: AFP

Memorial for slain Egyptian woman vandalised

A memorial for an Egyptian woman who was murdered inside a German court last year has been vandalised just weeks after being unveiled, police in the eastern city of Dresden said on Friday.

Marwa El-Sherbiny, the mother of a three-year-old and pregnant with her second child, was stabbed 18 times last July by a man she was testifying against during an appeal hearing.

Three of the knife-shaped columns that make up the memorial for the 31-year-old Egyptian woman were knocked over.

Organisers of the memorial, Buerger Courage, plans to put up 18 columns in Dresden to symbolise the number of stab wounds.

The July 1, 2009 courtroom killing sparked anger in several Islamic countries, where some accused Germany of tolerating xenophobia and anti-Islamic views. The German killer, a man of Russian origin, was convicted and given a life sentence.

Sherbiny was stabbed when the man was appealing a conviction for insulting her by calling her an "Islamist," "terrorist" and "slut" when she asked him to make room for her son to play on swings in a playground.

Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in western Europe after France. Some groups in Germany said after the murder Islamophobia was rife and criticised the German government for taking several days to condemn the murder.
Source: Reuters

Trapped at ground zero

By Ramzy Baroud
The controversy over the right of Muslim Americans to build community center and mosque a short distance from the site of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is both strange and outright inappropriate.

It should never be necessary for law-abiding Americans to justify exercising their right to freely practice their own religion. This right is in accordance to the First Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights that has constituted the foundation of American freedom for over 200 years.

But in the age of Guantanamo-like gulags filled with bearded Muslim men, such principles are disregarded. The very ideals that have been celebrated in the United States for generations are being trampled upon, violated and abused.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton can reference American ideals and speak of democracy while justifying the peculiar elections in Afghanistan, or the bewildering sectarian "democracy" underway in Iraq. However, when President Barack Obama made the seemingly dreadful mistake on August 13 of endorsing the right of Muslims to build a community center near Ground Zero, all hell broke loose.

Representative Peter King, a Republican from New York - echoing the sentiment of numerous others in congress, media and public - immediately denounced Obama's remarks. The very next day, the president was forced to explain to CNN the underlying intent of his comments. He laboriously delineated the difference between commenting on "the wisdom" of the project and upholding the broader principle that the government should treat "everyone equal, regardless" of religion.

The controversy is odd, as well as embarrassing, because the intention of building the community center and the mosque - which includes a lecture hall and a swimming pool - was meant as a gesture of goodwill, an attempt at cultural and religious dialogue. It signals the Muslim community's desire for inclusion. It is also an act of defiance.

Those who committed their evil deed in the name of religion, and those who lead major wars also in the name of religion are groups most disaffected by a community initiative aimed at rising over the superficial religious divides that have lead to major crimes and fueled criminal wars.

However, not all of those who against the approval of the mosque project are politically manipulative, ideologically or even religiously motivated. Some have innocently bought into the ridiculous media allegations and insinuations. They have been led to believe that building such a structure would be insensitive, betraying the memory of the September 11 victims (who also include Muslims), and could function as a symbolic message that the terrorists have won.

One fails to understand how a prayer room, a swimming pool and a lecture hall a few blocks away from where the Twin Towers once stood represents a victory in the books of al-Qaeda's grand designs. But more importantly, such language suggests - if not confirms - that what is underway is nothing but a religious war. If that is the case, then Muslims, using the same logic, have the right to curtail the freedom and target minorities in Muslim countries because they profess religions that are supposedly hostile to Islam. But isn't that precisely what al-Qaeda - a group abhorred by most Muslims - among other zealot groups have been arguing, if not practicing?

It's unacceptable that after years of American wars in Muslim countries - which preceded the terrorist attacks of September 11 - and many more wars which killed, wounded and devastated millions, we are still stuck in the same terrible mentality. Many haven't yet matured to see through the tainted lenses of hate and prejudice, the logic of "us" and ‘them'. The very mindset that led America to its political, economic, military and moral crises for years continues to prevail. The very same cheerleaders who supervised the demise of their country as a world leader are now carrying the torches and forks of intolerance against a mosque, a lecture hall and a swimming pool.

The Muslim community center project was meant to remain a local affair until Obama afforded his support during a Ramadan meal with members of the US Muslim community. His comments presented the perfect opportunity for a perfectly opportunistic group of politicians and media pundits. His words were twisted and manipulated to give the impression that he cared little about the victims of September 11. The US president was reduced to actually have to state that "the pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable ..."

However, as unbelievable, sad and self-defeating such a debate seems, it is also a wake-up call and a stark reminder of the kind of hatred and intolerance that gave that spot in lower Manhattan its dreadful name. Hatred and intolerance have also created uncountable other "ground zeros" in various Muslim lands, from Baghdad, to Gaza to Kabul and elsewhere.

Perhaps the controversy is a reminder of the issues we still need to urgently confront. We cannot indulge in the rhetoric of change, hope and audacity, while we remain at the same emotional and psychological standstill. We need to realize how such a fragile collective state of mind makes many of us so easily exploited and readily manipulated. This is the discussion that truly needs to commence, as boldly and urgently as possible.

Iran to power up nuclear reactor

Iran has been making final preparations to start up its first nuclear reactor after years of delays.

The $1bn Bushehr facility, about 1,200km south of Tehran, has taken 40 years to complete and is scheduled to come online with the help of the Russian technicians on Saturday.

Celebrations have been planned across the country to mark the loading of the first fuel rods at the 1,000 megawatt light-water reactor, Iranian officials said.

"The startup operations will be a big success for Iran," Javad Karimi, a conservative politician, said. "It also shows Iran's resolve and capability in pursuing its nuclear activities."

The fuel-loading process scheduled to begin on Saturday will mean the facility is officially recognised as a nuclear reactor under international terms.

"It is a big day. Iran has been waiting for it for years. Bushehr has seen the start up postponed so many times that Iranians will breathe a sigh of relief," Mark Fitzpatrick of London's International Institute for Strategic Studies said.

However, the full operation is expected to take at least a week and it will be more than two months before it begins generating electricity.

Russian safeguards

Russia, under agreements signed by Iran, has pledged to safeguard the plant and spent nuclear fuel will be shipped back to Russia for reprocessing.

Iran has said UN nuclear agency experts will be able to verify none of the waste is diverted for other uses. The uranium fuel used at Bushehr is well below the more than 90 per cent enrichment needed for a nuclear warhead.

The United States, Israel and other nations maintain deep suspicion of Iran's nuclear programme, but do not specifically object to Iran's ability to build peaceful nuclear reactors that are under international scrutiny.

Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking to build atomic weapons and claims it has a right to produce its own fuel for several nuclear power plants it plans to build for civilian use.

However, the US and its allies have repeatedly criticised Iran's plans to enrich uranium, a process that can be used to make material for atomic weapons, but is also needed to make nuclear fuel.

In March, Iran said it would begin construction on the first of 10 new uranium enrichment sites in defiance of UN sanctions.

Despite working on the Bushehr reactor since 1995, Russia has backed the UN's latest sanctions on Iran.

Russian officials argue that starting up the facility will require Iran to increase its co-operation with UN nuclear inspectors and possibly lead Iran to resume talks over its uranium enrichment programme.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reiterated on Friday that his country was willing to return to negotiations with the six major nuclear powers – the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany – about its nuclear programme.

He also said that Iran could stop its advanced uranium enrichment programme if a deal to ensure nuclear fuel supplies was reached.

"We promise to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent purity if we are ensured fuel supply," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

Long-delayed reactor

The long-delayed Bushehr project dates backs to 1974, when Iran's US-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi contracted the German company Siemens to build the reactor.

The company withdrew from the project after the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the shah. The partially finished plant was later damaged after it was bombed during the 1980-88 war with Iraq.

Before making the Russian deal to complete Bushehr, Iran signed pacts with Argentina, Spain and other countries only to see them cancelled under US pressure.

Ali Ansari, an Iran expert at Scotland's St Andrews university, said that the technology at the site was outdated after years of delays.

"It will obviously have a very theatrical opening but the delays have meant that the power plant is a very old model and the contribution to the national grid is very small," he said.

Iran has said it plans to build other reactors and designs for a second rector in southwestern Iran are already taking shape.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said that his country could co-operate with Iran on future reactors.

"The UN Security Council resolutions have not placed any limits on co-operation with Iran in building light-water ... reactors, which are the most secure in terms of proliferation," the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

"And we see no reason why such co-operation cannot be continued. It is mutually beneficial and, most important, presents no risk."

Aid boost for flood-hit Pakistan

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, has welcomed new pledges of more than $200m to help the 20 million affected by devastating floods in Pakistan.

The money was pledged on Friday after Ban made a fresh appeal for assistance to prevent what he called a "slow-motion tsunami" from causing further catastrophe.

"The generosity of countries and individuals will make a real difference in the daily lives of millions of people," Ban added.

"We must keep it up. Pakistan is facing weeks, months and years of need."

Torrential monsoon rains unleashed the worst floods in 80 years, flattening houses, sweeping away transport and communication links as well as causing destroying livestock and crops.

'Unprecedented disaster'

Rebecca Wynn of the UK-based aid agency Oxfam told that the floods were an "unprecedented disaster" and further pledges would be needed to meet the victims' needs.

"The figures keep going up. First it was two million [people affected], then it was four million, and now it is 20 million. It's shocking," she said.

"The [UN] appeal is just for the first 90 days and it was based on an estimate of six million people, so more money will be needed."

Eight million flood survivors in desperate need of food, shelter and clean drinking water require humanitarian assistance to survive, as concerns grow over potential cholera, typhoid and hepatitis outbreaks.

"The situation is very serious and is growing. The worse has to come," Guido Sabatinelli, the World Health Organisation representative in Pakistan, said.

"We are receiving some good pledges. We cannot buy drugs with the pledges. We need to convert this into cheques."

Sabatinelli said that there had been a 30 per cent rise in diarrhoea case in the flood-affected areas.

Pledges received

Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that a full picture of the true scale of the disaster was only just beginning to emerge.

"It's a disaster that came very slowly, it's not an earthquake that hits suddenly that we can immediately see the victims. But we are now seeing the magnitude of this catastrophe."

Last week, OCHA launched an emergency appeal for $460 million for Pakistan and on Friday it said 55 percent of the requested funds had been received.

The General Assembly meeting on the Pakistan floods was continuing on Friday, with more speakers offering pledges.

India, which has fought three wars with its neighbour, was among those pledging aid, with a $5m donation accepted by Islamabad.

The official death toll from the floods is about 1,500, but Pakistan's envoy to the UN said on Friday that the final toll could be much higher.

"We don't yet know how many are dead and how many have perished," Abdullah Hussain Haroon told the UN General Assembly.

"We can only hold our breath and hope that the casualty figures have been fewer."

Towns swamped

The floods began on July 29 in the northwest of the country after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains and have since swamped thousands of towns and villages in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

While rainfall has lessened, flooding is continuing in parts of Sindh province as water from the north courses down the Indus and other rivers.

The Nato military alliance agreed on Friday to provide an airlift and sealift for aid to Pakistan and said the first cargo plane would fly there at the weekend with power generators, water pumps and tents.

Many areas are inaccessible by road and the only way to provide relief to them is through helicopters.