By Sam Levine and Tom Spreadbury
The holy month of Ramadan has begun and Muslims across Merseyside are organising events to celebrate.
As of last night (17th February) the ninth month of the Islamic calendar has started, starting a month-long period of fasting, prayer, and reflection for Muslims all over the world.
Here in Liverpool, events are taking place throughout the community to celebrate the holy month.
This includes ‘RamaDay’ set up by Liverpool John Moores University Islamic Society in which students and staff members from the university are invited to participate in a day of fasting.
The event will take place on Wednesday 25th February.
The day aims to help non-Muslim members of the university to share and understand the experience of Islamic students, through a day of community and celebration.
Arwa Daaboul, the president of the LJMU Islamic Society, said: “It’s nice when non-Muslims are supportive of Muslims participating in Ramadan.
One of the ways that people can support is educating themselves about it and know what exactly Muslims are abstaining from during the month.”
From dawn until sunset, Muslims do not eat, drink, or engage in sexual relations.
Beyond this, sinful behaviours are also abstained from, including lying, gossiping and swearing, to promote worship, charity, and good deeds.
Liverpool has a rich Islamic community, with Muslims representing 5.3% of the city’s population (roughly 25,000 people) according to the Office for National Statistics.
On the significance of having such a strong community, Arwa said: “It’s very important for Muslims to have a strong community during the month of Ramadan.
“Whether it’s the night-time prayers, breaking the fast, or before dawn during Suhoor (the morning meal before the fast starts) it brings us together and makes us feel less alone, and altogether encourages the community to unite together.”
Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr, a joyous holiday marked with special prayers, charity, and family celebrations.
This year, Eid al-Fitr will fall on either March 19th or March 20th, depending on the sighting of the moon.
(Featured Image licenced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unimported Licence.)
