Ramadan 2022 will be bittersweet

The first day of Ramadan in Kashmir. AP

This weekend, Muslims around the world welcomed Ramadan, with the holy month commencing in the UAE on Saturday. As the first sunset fell, cannons were fired to mark the end of the first day of fasting.

Even more striking than the roar of artillery was the nature of the audiences that surrounded the guns. In Abu Dhabi, outside the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Cody Combs, a social media journalist for The National, delivered a piece to camera without a mask, now possible after the UAE lifted the mandate on outdoor face coverings in February. In Dubai, shoppers by Burj Khalifa thronged the ceremony in greater numbers than would have been found in the past two years. With Covid-19 travel restrictions now lifted in many countries, the attendees would have been more international than before, too.

All are signs that, at least in terms of social and familial gatherings, this Ramadan is going to mark a much-needed return to normality. Speaking to The National, last-minute shoppers in Dubai were stressing how important this is. Hasnaa Nofal, a pharmacist from Egypt, said: “Ramadan is truly a special time because it brings all of the family together. You make sure you spend that time together that you might not otherwise have throughout the year."

As travel returns to normal, Makkah and Medinah will be welcoming worshippers to the Holy Mosques, particularly to the Kaaba for Umrah.

Omanis gather as goats are sold ahead of the Eid Al Fitr holiday, in the Surur area of Samail province, 80 kilometres south-west of the capital Muscat. AFP

Iraqi Sunni Muslims gather for the Laylat Al Qadr – Night of Power – in the shrine of cleric Sheikh Abdel Kader Al Gilani, in central Baghdad. EPA

Palestinians pray on Laylat Al Qadr beside the Dome of the Rock shrine, at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters

A man stares at the dome of a mosque, in Syria's northern city of Raqa. AFP

A volunteer from the charity Violet Org hands out food packages for the suhour meal eaten in Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib. AFP

Residents of Ezbet Hamada gather to eat during iftar in Mataria, Cairo. Reuters

Ramadan decorations at Global Village, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Syrians break their fast during a gathering organised by various groups in Tadef, near the city of Al Bab, in Aleppo province. AFP

Street traders cut up dessert pastries for sale at a market in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. AFP

People breaking their fast at Quba Mosque, Madinah, Saudi Arabia. SPA

Fasting Muslim worshippers queue to receive iftar meals, donated by a charity, in Mahboula, south of Kuwait City. AFP

Yemenis read the Quran during Ramadan at a mosque in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

People queue outside Al Farooq Mosque in Dubai before sunset, waiting to break their fast. EPA

Shoppers at a market after their iftar meal, in the New Aleppo district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. AFP

An Egyptian dancer performs the traditional tanoura dance at a restaurant in the Omani capital Muscat. AFP

A famous Ramadan lantern inscribed with holy month greetings at Al Hamidiya market in Syria's capital Damascus. AFP

Volunteers stir a pot of rice for a charity iftar at the eighth century Umayyad Mosque in Syria's capital Damascus. AFP

Omanis gather to break their fast on the beach in Muscat. AFP

Cooks employed by the Islamic Charitable Society prepare iftar meals for Palestinian orphans and families in need, in the West Bank city of Hebron. AFP

Iftar is served outside a mosque on the Jazeera State highway in the village of Al Nuba, about 50 kilometres south of Sudan's capital Khartoum. AFP

A worshipper reads the Quran inside a mosque in Syria's northern city of Raqqa. AFP

The first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al Kilani, the former Sunni Muslim preacher, in central Baghdad. AFP

Worshippers attend the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

Palestinians cross the Qalandia checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on their way to the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque. Reuters

An Egyptian baker prepares kunafa, a Ramadan dessert favourite, at a market in Cairo. EPA

Dawn awakeners known as musaharatis beat drums to wake Muslims for the suhour meal before the day's Ramadan fast in Damascus, Syria. AFP

Moroccan King Mohammed VI, centre, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, second left, share an iftar meal in Sale, Morocco. AP

Iranian women read the Quran at the shrine of Shah Abdol-Azim in Tehran. Reuters

A Ramadan catch-up at a cafe in Mosul, Iraq. Reuters

Prayer beads are in great demand during Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

A musaharati drummer wakes people for suhour in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters

The old city in Tripoli in Libya is decked with Ramadan decorations. Reuters

Food packets arranged for distribution in Al Najieh, in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province. AFP

Worshippers gather at Al Sahlah Mosque in Kufa, near the city of Najaf, Iraq. Reuters

Iftar at the Prince Mansour Assaf Mosque in central Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

An elderly Palestinian reads the Quran at his shop in the old city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Displaced Syrian children return to their camps with boxes of food on the outskirts of the rebel-held town of Dana, in Idlib province. AFP

Ramadan lanterns at a shop in Beirut. AP

A Palestinian man carries a tray of qatayef, traditional Arabic dumplings, in Rafah, southern Gaza. AFP

A cannon is fired at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi to mark the end of fasting on the first day of Ramadan. Victor Besa / The National

Even modern technology is shaping the holy month, making it easier to observe and celebrate globally. The Islamic Crescents Observation Project at Abu Dhabi's International Astronomical Centre now publishes a map showing the regions where a crescent moon can be seen by the naked eye alone, as well as with a telescope, information that determines when the season begins.

But while progress adorns much of Ramadan 2022, there are also worrying trends emerging. Last year, food prices were rising at unhealthy rates, making iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast, dangerously expensive for the region's poorer residents. Now, in large part due to the Ukraine conflict and the Middle East's over-reliance on food imports, costs are even higher.

Families might feel safer coming together this year, but all is still not well if the shared meals they were so looking forward to are limited by economic hardship. Many will be forced to rely on charity. An important one is the UAE's global One Billion Meals campaign that was announced to coincide with Ramadan. It will help people in 50 countries, many of which are in the Middle East. It is desperately needed. In Lebanon, for example, more than 20 per cent of households are now food insecure, according to the UN's World Food Programme.

An important aspect of Ramadan is recognising the spiritual benefit of resilience and sacrifice. The tragedy of Covid-19 means these reflections will probably be more intense than usual, as will the relief of being with family and friends once again. But the world's problems are not ending as the pandemic appears to be easing, and, this year, prayers should be offered for an end to new global crises, too.