Hello friends,
Mosques across the UAE are full for Qiyam Al Layl during Ramadan. And now people are looking ahead to the coming Friday prayer, which may be the last of this Ramadan. As one worshipper we spoke to, Abdulrahman Mohammed, a 26-year-old from Sharjah, put it: “Friday is the time where all of us gather and listen to the same message.”
I have noticed something else in the mosques I attend at night. After the prayers finish and people begin to leave, the duas linger. You can hear them softly around the mosque, prayers for protection, for calm, for stability in the region and in moments like these they feel especially heartfelt. The faithful keep praying, with no sign of alarm, on the occasions that news alerts light up their phones. It is a reminder of how much faith, unity and resilience shape life here.
One story from Cairo really caught my attention this week. A 54-year-old musaharati, a traditional Ramadan drummer who has been walking the streets at night for 15 years to wake people up for suhoor, says: "no technology can replace Ramadan tradition”. The role of musaharati is usually male-dominated, but she says it’s a tradition she wants to keep alive for as long as she is in this world. I have to say, that felt like a pretty great bit of inspiration during Women’s History Month.
And to end on another thoughtful note, we have also pulled together something from the archive: ten films that offer positive and accurate portrayals of Islam, from The Message to Malcolm X. In times like these, stories that bring understanding feel more important than ever. You can find those below.
Sending prayers, blessings and calmer nights your way,
Social Media Journalist
UAE residents unite for Ramadan prayers and community events amid Iran crisis
Large crowds of worshippers across the UAE continue to attend mosques for prayers during Ramadan despite continued Iranian attacks on the country.
Egypt’s female musaharati ‘No matter how much technology advances, Ramadan will always need the musahrat’
Ramadan in the UAE
- Amazon collaborates with Emirati influencer to create Ramadan card game
- Podcast: What makes Ramadan TV culture so special in the Arab world?
- Ten films featuring positive and accurate portrayals of Islam
- My first masjid: how to build your own cardboard mosque at home with the children
- British book merchant shares his ‘reading kit’ of Islamic-inspired literature for Ramadan
