Month of Ramadan brings a renewed call for peace

FROM GRANADA IN Spain and Aubervilliers in France, to Cairo and Jakarta, more than a billion Muslims are this month marking the “handing down” of the Koran. Through daytime fasting, Ramadan, which this year falls Sept. 1 to 30, is a time to subjugate the body to the spirit.

The advent of Ramadan, which most Westerners would hardly have noticed a decade ago, now merits coverage in such disparate news media as the Dallas News and London’s Times.

This is also the period when the faithful try to resolve their differences peaceably.

The Pakistani military said it would suspend offensive operations against the Taliban.

As a Ramadan goodwill gesture, Egypt opened the Rafah crossing between Sinai and Gaza. In addition, for this month the opening hours of checkpoints between the West Bank and Israel proper are being extended.

To sensitize Israeli soldiers who come into contact with Palestinian Arab civilians during the holiday, the Civil Administration has distributed leaflets explaining the times, dates and customs of Ramadan: “Soldiers (are) directed to show consideration for the population and instructed to avoid eating, drinking and smoking in populated areas, with an emphasis on the crossing points.”

Ramadan might be an appropriate time for Muslims to reflect on the challenges of faith and modernity. Much of the bloodletting in the Mideast and other Muslim population centers takes place among believers themselves – between those who appear ascendant, who want to return Islam to its most bellicose and imperialistic path, and those who seek coexistence with the “other.”

Only when Muslims who aspire to live in harmony with those who do not share their faith are able to triumph over the fanatics will peace between civilizations become a reality.

For this, we too pray.

Jerusalem Post, Israel