Together on the road to peace” “” “

“Christians and Moslems, we believe that peace is first and foremost a gift of God, and that’s why our respective communities pray for peace and are always called to do so”, writes Msgr. Michael L. Fitzgerald, new president of the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue in the traditional message sent to Moslems to mark the feast of “Id al-Fitr” which will conclude the month of fasting, Ramadan, in a few days time. “Christians and Moslems on the road to peace”: that’s the theme of the message which recalls the day of prayer for peace sponsored by the Pope at Assisi, on 24 January this year, but also the terrible conflicts that are still blighting the Middle East, Africa and Asia. “With a view to achieving peace and maintaining it – writes Fitzgerald in his message – religions may play an important role which is being increasingly recognized by civil society and by governments in our time”. In particular, education is indicated as “a sphere where religions may make a particular contribution. We are convinced – says the message – that it is through education that the ways to peace are best pursued”. And it continues: “Education in peace also involves the consciousness and the acceptance of diversities”. In this number of SirEurope we have gathered some experiences and testimonies of how Ramadan is celebrated in various European countries. What is Ramadan? According to Islamic tradition, Ramadan is the month during which the Koran was revealed to Mahomet. This decisive moment in the life of their faith is annually commemorated by Moslems with a month of fasting (for adults in good health), variable in length depending on the lunar calendar. During Ramadan the day is punctuated by at least eight moments of prayer and adoration (Taravih), which may be increased to as many as twenty. During Ramadan, Moslems pay the “Zakat” to their own mosque, i.e. the so-called “legal alms” or “tax for the poor” (used for charitable purposes). The last day of Ramadan is a moment of celebration and takes its name from the early morning prayer: Eid. It’s a feast dedicated in particular to the family and to children who often receive gifts, rather as children do at Christmas in the Christian world. On this day families meet together at home for a special meal, and then visit their loved ones in cemeteries. In Spain it’s a festivity. Assalamu aleykum. So begins the messages of good wishes for Ramadan that have been circulating between Spanish Moslems on the Internet in recent days. The some half a million Moslems who live in Spain (mainly from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Senegal) consider Ramadan essentially a month of festivity, not as a period of mortification. The Moslem community also include new converts and the inhabitants of Ceuta and Melilla (enclaves that belong to Spain but that geographically form part of Morocco). The great majority are of Sunni rite. The president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Spain, Riay Tatary, explains that “almost all Moslems in Spain observe Ramadan”. But it’s not all easy. This Ramadan coincides with the 10th anniversary of the accords between the Spanish government and the Islamic communities. The difficulties arise especially on the workplace. In the accords provision is made for Moslems to be permitted to ask the firms for which they work to leave work early to fulfil their religious obligations or go to the mosque. This clause, however, is only honoured with the good will of employers. No obstacles, on the other hand, exist for Moslem children in schools; meals are controlled and the timetable respected. But not only Moslems celebrate Ramadan. Every Monday the Jesuit community of Casp in Barcelona organizes an evening: “Let’s Pray with Moslems during Ramadan”. This is an hour of silence and meditation based on the sacred texts of the Koran; the aim is “to be in tune with the blessed month of the followers of Allah”. Italian dioceses engaged in dialogue. For Moslems in Italy, Ramadan began on the 6th and ends on 29th November. Islam is the second leading religion in the country. It involves altogether some 700,000 persons, though this number means “coming from Moslem countries”. A third of the Moslems in Italy come from Morocco, followed by Albania, Tunisia, Senegal, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Algeria, Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria, Turkey and Somalia. To the 700,000 we also need to add the Italian Moslems, comprising a numerically small but very active core of converts to Islam who play a high-profile role in representing Islam: “The Islamic communities – explains Father Augusto Casolo, director of the CADR (Milanese Centre for interreligious dialogue – are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan. This is an important occasion for communal get-togethers, for visibility, for all the communities to meet together as far as possible in a unified way to give a signal of community”. “Last year – says don Casola – the intervention of the Holy Father undoubtedly created a moment of attention which each diocese and local church is now trying to reproduce, demonstrating that it does not want to remain absent from this important moment in the life of another religious community”. In Milan, for example, on the 29 November (at the close of Ramadan), the diocese has organized a meeting at Caritas with the authorities of the various Moslem centres, for an exchange of good wishes and the handing over of the message from the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue. In Turin, on the other hand – explains Father Augusto Negri, director of the “Peirone Centre” – it was decided to combine the Vatican message with a diocesan press release. At Aosta the diocesan office for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue has organized a prayer vigil and fast for peace in the cathedral.