DATE=12/18/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-42183
TITLE=RAMADAN
BYLINE=AMIN FEKRAT
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
NOT VOICED:
INTRO: THE MONTH OF RAMADAN, THE NINTH MONTH IN THE MUSLIM
CALENDAR AND THE HOLIEST MONTH OF ISLAM, BEGINS SOON (HAS BEGUN)
AND MUSLIMS THE WORLD OVER ARE PREPARING FOR (HAVE EMBARKED ON) A
MONTH OF ABSTINENCE FROM EATING AND DRINKING AND A MONTH OF
REFLECTION, PURIFICATION AND SOUL SEARCHING. VOA'S AMIN FEKRAT OF
VOA'S FARSI SERVICE HAS PREPARED THIS REPORT ON THE MEANING OF
RAMADAN:
TEXT: HOJJATOL-ISLAM MOHAMMAD ELAHI, THE IMAM OF "THE HOUSE OF
WISDOM" IN DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN SAYS THAT THIS YEAR THE
BEGINNING OF RAMADAN TAKES PLACE ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1998,
WHEN A SLIVER OF THE NEW MOON IS SIGHTED. QUESTIONED ABOUT THE
UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING THE SIGHTING OF THE NEW MOON,
HOJJATOL-ISLAM ELAHI SAYS THINGS MIGHT BE CHANGING:
/// CUT 1: IMAM ELAHI///
FIRST OF ALL IN RECENT YEARS THERE IS MUCH LESS
UNCERTAINTY AND MORE AGREEMENT AMONG THE ISLAMIC
COMMUNITY REGARDING THE CERTAINTY OF THE (ONSET) OF THE
MONTH OF RAMADAN. LOOKS LIKE FOR THIS YEAR THERE IS MORE
AGREEMENT ON NEXT SUNDAY AS THE FIRST DAY OF RAMADAN.I
AND I BELIEVE TO REDUCE THIS UNCERTAINTY, WE NEED TO
FOCUS MORE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND GET HELP FROM
ASTRONOMY.
/// END ACT ///
FASTING, DAILY PRAYERS, ALMSGIVING, AND THE "HAJ," OR PILGRIMAGE
TO MECCA, AND ACKNOWLEDGING OF THE ONENESS OF GOD AND THE MISSION
OF MUHAMMAD AS THE GOD'S MESSENGER MAKE UP THE FIVE PILLARS OF
ISLAM.
DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN, MUSLIMS EVERYWHERE FAST. THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE WHO WILL BE FASTING IS SUBSTANTIAL SINCE AN ESTIMATED
ONE OUT OF EVERY SIX PEOPLE IN THE WORLD IS A MUSLIM.
IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE, THERE ARE BETWEEN THREE AND SIX
MILLION MUSLIMS. IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT ISLAM IS THE FASTEST
GROWING RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. IMAM ELAHI SAYS THIS IS
TRUE OF THE REST OF THE WORLD:
///CUT 2: IMAM ELAHI ///
ACTUALLY ISLAM IS NOT ONLY THE FASTEST GROWING FAITH IN
THE UNITED STATES, IT IS ALSO THE FASTEST GROWING FAITH
AROUND THE WORLD. AND I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS IS THAT
ISLAM IS NOT ONLY A RELIGION OF SPIRITUALITY, BUT ALSO
A RELIGION OF RATIONALITY.
/// END ACT ///
IN DEFERENCE TO THE INJUNCTIONS FROM THE KORAN, THE FUNDAMENTAL
SCRIPTURE OF THE FAITH, ADULT MUSLIMS BEGIN A FAST, AVOIDING
FOOD, DRINK AND SMOKE FROM DAWN TO DUSK, FOR A PERIOD OF ONE
MONTH, UNTIL THE SLIVER OF THE NEXT MOON APPEARS. HOWEVER, THE
KORAN DOES NOT REQUIRE TRAVELERS, THE SICK, NURSING MOTHERS AND
SOLDIERS ON THE MARCH TO FAST. BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO
MAKE UP THE DAYS MISSED AS SOON AS THE OPPORTUNITY ARISES.
DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN, MUSLIMS ARE CALLED UPON TO SHIFT
FROM DAILY ROUTINE TO AN ATTITUDE OF SELF DENIAL AND ALSO TO
STRIVE TO PURIFY THE SOUL. MUSLIMS ARE ALSO CALLED UPON TO LEARN
TO SUFFER IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE LESS FORTUNATE.
MUSLIMS TRACE THEIR RELIGION TO THE YEAR A-D 610. ACCORDING TO
THEIR TRADITION, ON MOUNT HIRA DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN,
MUHAMMAD BIN ABDALLAH, A MEMBER OF THE ELITIST QURAYSH TRIBE FROM
MECCA, RECEIVED A DIVINE INJUNCTION COMMANDING HIM TO "RECITE."
MUSLIMS BELIEVE THAT SOME TIME IN THE MONTH OF RAMADAN, MUHAMMAD,
IN HIS MEDITATIVE STATE, SUDDENLY WAS ENGULFED BY THE DIVINE
PRESENCE. "RECITE!" COMMANDED THE VOICE:
/// ACT 3 - THE VOICE OF A FAITHFUL, READING THE "GERM CELLS"
SURA (FADE WHEN DESIRED)///
RECITE IN THE NAME OF THY SUSTAINER WHO HAS CREATED MAN
OUT OF GERM CELLS! RECITE, FOR THY SUSTAINER IS THE MOST
BOUNTIFUL, ONE WHO HAS TAUGHT MAN THE USE OF PEN, TAUGHT
HIM WHAT HE DID NOT KNOW!
/// END ACT ///
WITHIN A HUNDRED YEARS OF MOHAMMAD'S CALL, ISLAM SPREAD TO MUCH
OF THE POPULATED WORLD. THE KORAN, MEANING "RECITATION," IN
ARABIC, EMPHASIZES REASON, PERPETUAL SEARCH FOR TRUTH, CAREFUL
OBSERVATION, CONTEMPLATION AND TRANSCENDENCE BEYOND THE
TRANSITORY, THE INSIGNIFICANT AND EPHEMERAL.
IN THE PROCESS OF THE RELIGIOUS SEARCH, THE FAITHFUL FIND THE
"SIGNS" AND THE "CLARIFIERS" (AYAT AND BAYYANAT, IN ARABIC) THAT
LEAD TO GOD AS THE ETERNAL TRUTH AND THE SOURCE OF ALL EXISTENCE.
/// ACT 4 CALL TO DAILY PRAYER IN ARABIC, FADE UNDER VOICE WHEN
DESIRED ///
GOD IS MOST GREAT,
GOD IS MOST GREAT,
I BEAR WITNESS TO THE ONENESS OF GOD,
I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS PROPHET..."
/// END ACT ///
AT THE CALL OF MUEZZIN FROM THE GOLDEN MINARETS OF THE MOSQUES
ALL OVER THE ISLAMIC WORLD, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MUSLIMS TURN
TOWARD MECCA, THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE PROPHET OF ISLAM, AND
PROSTRATE THEMSELVES IN HUMILITY BEFORE GOD.
THE RELIGIOUS-BASED ISLAMIC QUEST BECAME A FOUNDATION FOR
SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND THE DISCOVERIES MADE BY ISLAMIC SCHOLARS
PRECEDED EUROPEAN RESEARCH AND LEARNING. MANY ADVANCES IN
MEDICINE, ASTRONOMY, MATH AND THE NATURAL SCIENCES OFTEN ARE
ATTRIBUTABLE TO TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD IN THE EARLY CENTURIES OF
ISLAMIC EXPANSION. IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT ISLAMIC
SCHOLARS AND SCIENTISTS TRANSMITTED MUCH OF THE CLASSICAL
KNOWLEDGE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. SINCE THEN ETHNIC, CULTURAL AND
TRIBAL DIFFERENCES SUPERSEDED THE ISLAMIC INJUNCTIONS FOR
PERPETUAL SEARCH AND DIVISION AND NATIONALISTIC DIFFERENCES
LARGELY STOPPED THE QUEST FOR TRUTH. BUT MANY MODERN MUSLIMS
TODAY SEEM TO BE CONVINCED THAT THE RISE OF A GENUINE ISLAMIC
REVIVALISM AS A POSITIVE FORCE MAY ONCE AGAIN PUT THE MUSLIM
COMMUNITIES ON THE RIGHT PATH.
MANY MUSLIMS TODAY ARE DISMAYED THAT THEIR RELIGION HAS, BY SOME
PEOPLE, BEEN LINKED WITH TERRORISM. AND THERE ARE MANY WHO
BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENTS AND REGIMES IN THE ISLAMIC COUNTRIES
DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THEIR IDEALS AND THEIR TRUE
RELIGION. A CASE IN POINT IS THE REGIME IN IRAQ WHOSE FACILITIES
AND ARMAMENTS ARE BEING (HAVE BEEN) BOMBARDED BY THE JOINT FORCES
OF BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. IMAM ELAHI OF THE "ISLAMIC
HOUSE OF WISDOM SAYS THAT THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY DIFFERENTIATES
BETWEEN THE REGIME IN IRAQ AND THE SUFFERING PEOPLE:
/// ACT 5 : IMAM ELAHI///
ACTUALLY, I HAVE HAD COMMUNICATIONS WITH MANY MUSLIMS
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS OPERATION, AND THEY KEEP
CALLING THE ISLAMIC HOUSE OF WISDOM. THE GENERAL FEELING
IS THAT FIRST OF ALL OUR HEART IS WITH THE IRAQI PEOPLE
AND WE ARE VERY SAD ABOUT THE SITUATION. THE MUSLIM
COMMUNITY IN THE U.S.THINKS THAT WE HAVE TO SEPARATE THE
QUESTION OF SADDAM HUSSEIN FROM THE QUESTION OF THE
IRAQI PEOPLE. EXPERIENCE TELLS US THAT SANCTIONS AND
SEVERAL ATTACKS AND BOMBARDMENTS OF IRAQ IN THE LAST FEW
YEARS REALLY DID NOT PUT PRESSURE ON SADDAM HUSSEIN;
SADDAM HUSSEIN IS STILL THERE, BUT THE IRAQI PEOPLE ARE
SUFFERING.
/// END ACT ///
FAR FROM EMBRACING VIOLENCE, IMAM ELAHI SAYS THAT ISLAM IS A
RELIGION THAT PREACHES COMPASSION FOR THOSE IN NEED, NOT ONLY
DURING RAMADAN BUT THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE YEAR. (SIGNED)
NEB/AF/KL
18-Dec-98 10:57 AM EST (1557 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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