This Ramadan must not be forgotten. The nights of suhoor and the evenings of iftar have gone, the Eid sweets have been eaten and the presents unwrapped. Cheeks have been kissed and hugs exchanged. But this Ramadan must not be forgotten.
The memories are heartbreaking. In Pakistan on Sunday, a mob attacked an Ahmediyya community and killed three people. The mob was responsible for the destruction of several houses, and was led by a local religious leader. They claim that an Ahmediyya teen had posted a blasphemous picture on Facebook.
I wondered what the Muslim protagonists of this violence had absorbed of the Ramadan spirit in the previous month. These were gruesome deaths and the Ahmediyya community will not forget the horrors they faced in Ramadan.
These killings made a mockery of Ramadan’s spirit of charity, compassion, community and empathy with others.
In Iraq, the Islamic State were just as anti-Ramadan and anti-Islam in their activities. In Mosul they destroyed churches and forced Christians to abandon Mass, which has been conducted since before the advent of Islam.
Again, the respect for Ramadan and the teachings of the Quran to respect those of other faiths especially the People of the Book was notable by its absence. If the Islamic State group truly respected Ramadan this would be a time of peaceful outreach, not death, threats, violence and rape. There was no Islamic or Ramadan spirit of love and outreach in their approach. Muslim sites were destroyed and many Muslims were killed too. None of them will forget the horrors they faced this Ramadan.
In Bangladesh, the refugee Muslim Rohingya population, which is fleeing from intense persecution in Myanmar, continue to endure suffering at the hands of the Bangladeshi government. Many are turned back at the border, the Bangladeshi government knowing for certain that these refugees are likely to face death and horrific suffering in Myanmar. Taking no pity on fellow Muslims is a particular tragedy in the month of Ramadan.
To add salt to these wounds, during Ramadan the Bangladesh Law Minister banned marriage for Rohingya refugees, whether that is between two Rohingya potential spouses or a Rohingya and a Bangladeshi. Marriage is a guaranteed right for human beings and something that is highly recommended for Muslims. The Rohingya will not forget this Ramadan.
The oppressions and violence wrought by Muslims at any time but particularly during Ramadan should make us stop and take stock of what exactly it is as a global nation we are learning from a month of purification, and to wonder how we can do better for next year.
It’s clear that Muslims can use Ramadan as a focus for togetherness and galvanisation. The horrors inflicted on Gaza focused Muslim spirits and actions on doing whatever we could to tackle the massacres and global blindness to the suffering and death facing 1.7 million Gazans. Whether that was through actions against governments, in protests, raising money for aid, through words in writing, or in our hearts through prayers, it was clear that Ramadan can create the platform for global Muslim action.
What must not be forgotten from this Ramadan is the lesson that we must galvanize collectively against the horrors around the world whoever is inflicting the violence.
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and blogs at www.spirit21.co.uk
