Most of the world’s 1,2-billion Muslims celebrated the start of the holy month of Ramadan on Thursday as Indonesians prayed for the victims of a massive earthquake that rocked Sumatra island a day earlier.
The start of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, is traditionally determined by the sighting of a new crescent moon, often dividing rival Islamic countries and sects over the exact date.
Across much of the Muslim world, Ramadan began on Thursday, although Libya kicked off the festivities on Wednesday, the same day as Nigeria. In Pakistan, the fasting month starts on Friday.
Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex from dawn until dusk. Activity peaks between iftar, the breaking of the fast at sunset, and suhur, the last meal of the day before sunrise.
In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Ramadan began under the shadow of the nation’s latest disaster after a massive, 8,4-magnitude quake struck, killing at least 10 people.
Muslims in some quake-hit areas were unable to attend their regular evening prayers on Wednesday night as emergency teams rushed to assess the extent of the damage.
“The imam had prepared for it but we cannot go to prayers as the mosque is damaged,” resident Slamet Purwanto told the Detikcom online news agency from a village in Bengkulu district, among the areas worst hit.
Hundreds of kilometres away from the epicentre in Medan, Indonesia’s third-largest city in North Sumatra, power failures made the faithful pray by candlelight, kerosene lamps and light bulbs rigged to car batteries.
Pakistan — whose population of 160-million is dominated by Sunnis — will be on high alert because of a wave of attacks since early July that have left hundreds dead, mostly in suicide bombings.
Ramadan began in Afghanistan on Thursday after confusion the day before that led some to wake up in the pre-dawn hours for a meal — only to find out they had to wait one more day to begin festivities.
The Taliban have threatened to launch new attacks on government and Western military targets throughout the country during Ramadan, and there was no sign of a let-up in violence with nearly 60 dead in 24 hours.
But in Baghdad, where thousands of US troops are deployed, the US military said levels of pre-Ramadan violence were lower this year.
The US military put a holiday amnesty in effect, with 50 to 80 detainees to be released each day during the holy month, which began for minority Sunnis on Thursday and a day later by the majority Shi’ites.
Top clerics in Indian Kashmir — scene of nearly 20 years of Muslim insurgency against New Delhi’s rule — said they would pray for peace and reconciliation in the divided Himalayan region, claimed in part by Pakistan.
In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, separatist Muslim rebels said they were ready to resume stalled peace talks with the government, but also warned they were prepared for “martyrdom”.
In Thailand, the army on Wednesday lifted a night curfew meant to smother a separatist insurgency in Muslim provinces, where people also began fasting on Thursday.
In Cairo, Egypt, a shopping frenzy began weeks ago despite soaring prices. Traffic police in the teeming Egyptian capital of 18-million have been banned from taking time off, with extra wardens deployed to control pre-iftar accidents as people race home to break the fast.
Gaza residents spending their first Ramadan under Hamas, which seized control of the tiny territory in June, are bracing for clashes after Fatah and other Palestinian groups called for sunset street prayers despite a Hamas ban. But the weary inhabitants were just hoping for a few weeks of peace and calm.
“The prayers and religious practices should not be transformed into manifestations of violence and hate,” said one resident, Nabil al-Ali. “We just want a little serenity and calm to bring us closer to God.”
In a traditional gesture, Hamas announced the release of 84 prisoners.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is preparing to receive about one million pilgrims expected to perform the umrah or smaller pilgrimage to Mecca. — AFP