Ramadan in Palestine: Muslim tradition impeded by the Israeli occupation

Date: 13 / 09 / 2007 Time: 12:13

Bethlehem – Ma'an – 

Muslim Palestinians face special obstacles to observing the fasting month of Ramadan, which begins today throughout the world.

The Israeli occupation government, fearing action by Palestinian military factions, usually impose tighter closures on the already heavily controlled territories. As a result, Palestinians wake up one to two hours earlier than usual in order to account for delays at checkpoints. The journey from Jerusalem to Ramallah, a 10 minute journey in the absence of checkpoints, will take two to three hours this month.

Because of checkpoints and other obstacles, many Palestinians are unable to make it home from work in time for Iftar, or the breaking of the fast at sundown.

Students

Class time is reduced to 35 minutes to enable the students and teachers to concentrate. Because of the difficulties they face getting to and from class, Palestinians have come to call University Students "warriors."

Corrupted Israeli goods

Each year on Ramadan, there are reports of merchants selling 'corrupted ' food and beverages, such as dates brought from Israeli settlements.

Palestinian detainees fast

Palestinian Muslim prisoners in Israeli jails are proud that they prepare their own meals and even make sweets during Ramadan.

Israel and Ramadan

Worried that Muslims are more inclined to martyrdom during Ramadan, the Israeli occupation government often impose a near-siege on the occupied territories this month.

The Israeli occupation government has also made it difficult for worshipers to reach the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, usually only allowing those over 45 years of age. Younger Palestinians have been known to scale the walls of the Old City to reach the site, or pray in the streets near the Mosque.

 

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Note to Readers:

The Israeli settlements as well as the Land-Grab, Apartheid Wall in the Palestinian occupied territories have been built illegally on confiscated Palestinian lands. These represent a major violation of international law, Geneva Conventions, and they obstruct reaching a peaceful resolution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Israeli occupation forces abduct and kidnap Palestinians from their homes and at checkpoints, on daily basis. Most media refer to these abductions and kidnappings as arrests, which is inaccurate and not true as the Israeli occupation government has no jurisdiction over Palestinian citizens inside their own territories.

Further, when Israeli occupation forces kill Palestinian civilians, particularly when the victims are women and children, this should be referred to as an act of terrorism, and perpetrators should be described as terrorists.

Since the end of the second intifadha in 2005, not a single Israeli civilian was killed by Palestinian resistance organizations. However, Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces, almost on daily basis.

Note to Journalists:

Any journalist who does not describe this as terrorism is biased, unfair, not objective, and a participant in terrorizing the Palestinian people, so the Israeli occupation of Palestine can continue endlessly.

Note to Translators:

The Arabic definite article, Al (or its variant, El) should be written with a hyphen separating it from the noun it is associated with, for example Al-Aqsa. If a hyphen is not used, as in Al Aqsa, it confuses non-Arabic readers. They may think that it is an abbreviation of the name Albert, as many Americans do.

The Arabic definite article Al (or El) should be written as such, whether it is Shamsiyah or Qamariyah in pronunciation, simply because we are dealing with the written form of the language, not the spoken one. Using the Shamsiyah so many forms in writing is inaccurate and confusing to non-Arabic readers, to say the least.

Only standard (fasih) pronunciation of Arabic names should be used. Non-standard ('ammi)  should be avoided avoided. Example: Names like Abu Sunainah, Abu Rudainah, and Abu Shebak are written by some translators in the non-standard forms of Abu Snainah, Abu Rdainah, and Abu Shbak.

The standard pronunciation of the vowel at the end of names is (a), not (e), particularly if it is followed by (h), like in the cases of Haniyah and Rudainah, not Haniyeh and Rudaineh.

The standard pronunciation of vowels in the following names is (ai), not (ei) as written by  some translators: Hussain, not Hussein and Hassanain, not Hassanein. This is the same long vowel pronounced in the English words "rain" and "brain."

 

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