Sa’da Makhalfia, 29, lives in Villeurbanne, a suburb of France’s second city, Lyon.
Sa’da is of Algerian descent and works in sales in the nuclear department of Vinci, one of the world’s largest building companies. She worships at Lyon’s Grand Mosque and says she has observed the fast since the age of 11.
For her, the holy month “is a spiritual moment that commits us to be good, to give the best of ourselves and brings us closer to Islam.
“It is a month where we must ask for forgiveness, increase our invocations and readings in the hope that we will practice our beloved religion better throughout the year.”
