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Sighting Ramadan's New Moon Confuses Swedish Muslims
By Yahia Abu Zakariya
STOCKHOLM, Nov 15 (IslamOnline) - One large problem facing the Muslim community in Sweden is sighting Ramadan's new moon. Cloudy skies and cold weather make it tough for Muslims here to sight the new moon.
Islamic societies in Sweden do not take the effort of forming groups for that job. Instead, they declare the beginning of Ramadan following the lead of some Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt, or according to astronomical calculations.
However, Swedish Muslims belong to different Islamic sects. Sunnis depend on Saudi Arabia or Egypt in sighting Ramadan's new moon, while followers of the Ja'fari sect rely on Iran. This causes separation among different Muslim groups in Sweden in determining Islamic occasions.
Numerous disagreements have consistently been the dominant feature among Swedish Islamic groups, like disagreeing on determining the timing of
iftar (breaking of the fast) during Ramadan. Tough weather conditions in Sweden and early sunset here compound existing disagreements.
Meanwhile, prevailing confusion in the Arab and Islamic worlds adds to the problem, because many Swedish Muslims resort to Arab satellite channels to determine the start of Ramadan.
Swedish Muslim families, apart from the disagreement over sighting Ramadan's new moon, celebrate the advent of the holy month trying to get their children to remember the rites and rituals of that glorious Islamic occasion, recognizing they live within a society totally different from Islamic values and traditions.
During Ramadan, mosques in Sweden are open for Muslims to perform Taraweeh prayers, invocations and supplications in congregation. However, attendance in mosques is negatively affected by the cold weather. Many Muslims prefer to stay home, watch Arab satellite, while some cannot attend mosques due to work obligations.
IslamOnline's correspondent in Stockholm reports that Islam has become the second official religion in Sweden, after Christianity. This is in spite of the fact that the Swedish Muslim community is a relatively new one, unlike that of France.
Swedish laws give Muslims the right to perform all their religious rites and rituals freely. Moreover, the government also provides Muslim societies with significant financial assistance.
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