As millions of Muslims prepare to welcome the arrival of Ramadan, many will use this annual opportunity for spirituality and self-reflection to act out the humanitarian virtues intrinsic to Islamic teachings. Increases in donations, volunteering and other charitable works reflect the fact that many people take the holy month to put others first.
Such renewed focus on helping those in need comes at a timely moment because although some societies in the Middle East are moving tentatively away from protracted conflict, too many others are still blighted by war.
It is true that in some parts of the region right now, there are signs of new beginnings. Millions of Muslims in Syria will celebrate Ramadan in a country no longer under the rule of the Assad family. In neighbouring Lebanon, Muslims there will observe the holy month at a time when it appears the new government might not only begin rebuilding cities and communities affected by war, the nation as a whole might turn the page of decades of internal division. However, other countries are still mired in conflict.
Millions of Yemenis remain impoverished and malnourished as the country’s Houthi rebels abdicate responsibility by refusing to care for their own people. In Sudan, almost two years of civil war continues to upend the lives of millions through violence and displacement; this week, Unicef warned that famine is pushing children to the brink of starvation in the war-torn nation. Meanwhile in Palestine, communities will try to observe Ramadan the best they can in the teeth of continuing adversity amid uncertainty about a fragile ceasefire in the ruined Gaza Strip and a violent Israeli escalation in the West Bank. Concerns about access to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem are as troubling as ever.
Such hardships highlight the need to build on compassion and concern for others, which are core Islamic values. Many people are rising to the challenge; from providing meals for the needy to enabling supportive conditions in schools, the UAE is preparing for the holy month. The National spoke to several UAE residents who planned to avoid excess and shop with purpose this year. These kinds of individual conscientious choices are matched by many nationwide charitable campaigns aimed at alleviating suffering at home and abroad.
However, much more needs to be done – especially at the international level. In an exclusive interview with The National this week, Tom Fletcher, the UN’s top humanitarian official described aid cuts by various nations as a “punch in the gut” that has left the humanitarian system under severe strain. The continuing hostility directed at UNRWA – the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees – is another sobering example of the breakdown in the global consensus on helping vulnerable people no matter the circumstances.
Given this context, the beginning of Ramadan is an opportune moment to highlight and celebrate those individuals, charities and governments that will use this time to help those who need it. From meeting people’s immediate humanitarian needs in Palestine, Yemen and Sudan to offering support for longer-term post-conflict plans, Islamic principles of solidarity and justice must be built upon – and the beginning of the holy month is a good time to start.
