Moslems flock to mosques on the eve of fasting month
Moslems flock to mosques on the eve of fasting month
JAKARTA (JP): Moslems flocked to mosques across the country last night to say the taraweh prayers, the first of the 29 to be said every evening during the holy fasting month of Ramadhan.
Loudspeakers at the worship houses belted praises to Allah and the Prophet Muhammad as well as the Arabic chants of Marhaban ya syahru Ramadhan, marhaban ya syahru shiami. (Welcome, oh Ramadhan, welcome, oh the fasting month.)
Today, Moslems will refrain from eating, drinking or engaging in sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk. Some schools, such as Muhammadiyah and others established by Moslem organizations, will either give students a month-long holiday or reduce the length of school hours.
Some companies and offices have also decided to shorten working hours, from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
In a televised message to greet Ramadhan last night, Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher called on Indonesian Moslems to observe fasting well in order to strengthen their faith, and build solidarity with the poor and the weak.
"The development efforts in the next 25 years will call for greater and better communication among officials, intellectuals, the wealthy and the poor, and the weak, common people," he said. What's needed, he said, "is a unity of hearts based on faith and awareness of Allah."
"Let's maintain the sacredness of Ramadhan by continuing our efforts to develop the Moslem brotherhood," he said.
The ministry announced on Saturday that Ramadhan will begin on Monday (today) after the government and independent Moslem organizations are satisfied with the results of methods employed to determine the onset of Ramadhan.
The beginning of the fasting month is determined by both the hisab (calculation by arithmetic means) and rukyat (the sighting of the new moon).
Based on the Arabic calendar year, which follows lunar movement, the start of each month must await the sighting of the new moon.
On Saturday, because observers from the government and Moslem organizations failed to sight the new moon, they decided that the previous month of Sya'ban consisted of 30 days and ended yesterday. The new month, Ramadhan, therefore, starts today.
Most other countries are also slated to begin the fasting month today. Moslems in Saudi Arabia and in some European countries, however, began Ramadhan yesterday.
There was no marked controversy about the start of Ramadhan here this year.
All of the major Moslem organizations, such as Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama and Persis, endorsed the government's decision to declare Jan. 22 as the start of Ramadhan.
In the past, the controversy has focused more on when the end of Ramadhan should be and whether people should fast 29 or 30 days. (swe)
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