Ramadan

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Muslims welcome the holy month of Ramadan with a mix of joy and deep concern

Muslims around the world are welcoming the arrival of Ramadan, a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, intense prayer, charity and feasts that begins for many Sunday night.

https://apnews.com/article/islam-religion-ramadan-2024-928363412cca46e586c8e5cf90526462?

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Muslims spot Ramadan crescent moon in Saudi Arabia, meaning month of fasting starts Monday for many

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Officials saw the crescent moon Sunday night in Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, marking the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims.

https://apnews.com/article/ramadan-islam-muslims-moon-sighting-5fd52c4a981e3d61bd86432ae734aeb0?

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Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the shadow of Gaza’s misery

ISTANBUL (AP) — Muslims around the world celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday Wednesday, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. But events were overshadowed by the worsening crisis in Gaza and Israel’s expected military offensive in Rafah city after six months of war.

https://apnews.com/article/eid-al-fitr-muslims-homecoming-868fcffe89540389339ae67f64d070cc?

[phkrause]

Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the shadow of Gaza’s misery Muslims around the world this week celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It’s customarily a joyful holiday, but the mood in many places this year was muted by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s expected new military offensive there after six months of war. Inside Gaza, there was little joy. Palestinians in a refugee camp near Gaza City mourned loved ones among the thousands killed in Israel’s offensive in response to Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack in Israel. Read more.

Why this matters In prayers and sermons, the events in Gaza were evoked in far-flung Eid observances, including in Kenya, Turkey and Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim nation.   In a holiday message, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent support to Gaza, which he called a “bleeding wound on the conscience of humanity.” Some of the thousands of worshippers in Istanbul carried Palestinian flags.   In an airstrike coinciding with Eid, Israeli aircraft killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate cease-fire negotiations with the militant group.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Prayers in Greece: Eid prayers held in a historic former mosque in northern Greece for the first time in 100 years Morocco quake: Morocco’s earthquake killed thousands. But survivors marking Ramadan say it didn’t shake their faith US mosque vandalized: New Jersey officials say they are probing hate crime after Islamic center is vandalized at Rutgers

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? Eid around the globe

Muslims gather for Eid al-Fitr prayer this morning at Firdows Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu via Getty Images Muslims around the world are bidding farewell to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and celebrating Eid al-Fitr with their family and friends. During Ramadan, devout Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset. Eid al-Fitr means the feast, or festival, of breaking the fast. A Palestinian girl is tossed into the air as people gather for Eid al-Fitr prayers by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City today. Photo: /Mahmoud Illean/AP In Gaza, this will be the second Eid al-Fitr since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Syrians will celebrate their first Eid al-Fitr since the end of more than half a century of the Assad family's iron-fisted rule. Keep reading.