Ramadan Amidst the Ruins

 

"Ramadan in Gaza has always been a special month, where the nights are illuminated by lanterns, markets bustle with life and mosques echo with the sounds of Taraweeh prayers at night. It is a time when the values of love, solidarity and generosity are most evident, as families gather around the Iftar table and children eagerly await the Maghrib call to prayer, running through the alleyways with their small lanterns," says Shadi Salem, a Palestinian writer from Gaza...

Ramadan, the Islamic forty day holy period of fasting, reflection, and generosity  comes to an end this Saturday evening. When Ramadan began for the Muslims of Gaza they were experiencing a cessation in warfare, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. That fragile agreement ended just over a week ago and the bombing in Gaza resumed with significant loss of life.

Despite this people have attempted to observe Ramadan, including gathering for the iftar, the meal at day's end to break the fast. There is the terrible irony that the embargo on relief supplies means that there is enforced fasting to the point of starvation for many, including children.  In the photo above you will see people along both sides of a table in the midst of the rubble.

Our ceremonial religious meals are vital to our faith, across religions. There are stories of Christians in the Soviet gulag prisons of another day coming together for a form of communion or eucharist even though the actual elements of bread and wine were not available. Through the centuries persecuted Jews would observe the Passover in secret, even though their lives were at risk. The communal nature of our sacred gatherings around food as physical and spiritual sustenance is a remarkable phenomenon.

In a few weeks many of us will observe Maundy Thursday during Holy Week, a reminder of Jesus' Last Supper with his followers in a land occupied by the Roman Empire. So, as a Christian I am more than willing to pray that Muslims in Gaza can gather in safety despite the threats and in doing so they can have a sense of peace and hope.