Marhaba Ramadan Al Kareem

Over a (b) billion Muslims around the world began observing the holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday, with the dawn-to-dusk fast posing a particular challenge for the devout in the sweltering Middle East summer.

Ramadan is the Islamic calendar's holiest month and meant as a time of reflection, when devout Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, sex and smoking from dawn till dusk, in an effort to renew their focus on spiritual, rather than material, matters.

A heat wave has covered much of the Mideast, putting even the most ardent believers to the test. The start of Ramadan changes every year, based on the sighting of the new moon at the start of the lunar month.

The calculation can be a show of regional clout, with senior clerics across the conflicted Mideast and the two main sects of Islam often disagreeing.


This year, most Sunni Muslims began fasting on Wednesday, while Shiite Muslims in Iran, Iraq and Oman are to begin observances on Thursday. Lebanon's Shiites were split.

By midday, temperatures reached the high 90s in degrees Fahrenheit (high 30s in degrees Celsius), and even topped 100 Fahrenheit in many parts of the Middle East.

The governments in Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories reduced the work day of civil servants from eight to six hours.

In the United Arab Emirates, the top religious authority issued a religious edict, or fatwa, allowing laborers to eat if it is too hot or conditions are too difficult to fast.

In Egypt, the West Bank and Gaza, the clock was moved back an hour. This does not change the duration of the fast, but allows people to break their fast earlier in the evenings.

Ramadan is a time of heightened religious fervor and giving to the poor. In impoverished Hamas-ruled Gaza, where a majority of 1.5 (m) million residents depend on food handouts, the Social Affairs Ministry planned to distribute food to 13-thousand families of unemployed workers and prisoners held by Israel.

The ministry said it also received 75-thousand food parcels donated by charities abroad. Power outages are one of the biggest concerns in Gaza during Ramadan.

"We are unable to afford to have electricity cuts because of the heat ... Since this morning I've washed my face four times (due to the heat). I am a shop owner without electricity. I cannot run the fan and I cannot stay in my shop," Abd Al Kader, a Gazan shop owner said.

In the worst periods, electricity is off for 12 hours, on for four, and off again for 12. The blackouts are caused by an overburdened grid, unrepaired damage from Israeli military offensives and a dispute between Hamas and the Palestinian government in the West Bank over who should pay for fuel for Gaza's only power plant.

Elsewhere, in Pakistan where recent flooding, the worst natural disaster in the nation's history, has caused the deaths of 1,500 people and affected 13.8 (m) million, Ramadan was starting on Thursday.

At a camp set up by the government for internally displaced people in the hard-hit Nowshera district, people gathered to receive food donated by Saudi Arabia Ramadan. Also in Nowshera, hundreds waited outside an aid compound in Azakhail in the hope of picking up some meager supplies ahead of Ramadan.

"Me, my brother and other relatives have been here since six o'clock in the morning. Our houses and all other things were destroyed by the flood. It's very hot at this time but we have not received any aid yet and tomorrow is our first day of fasting," said Khan Zada, an Afghan refugee in Azakhail camp.

The United Nations, relying on Pakistani figures, says the number of people affected by flooding over the past two weeks is 13.8 (m) million - more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Meanwhile, shops and restaurants were closed across Jakarta on Wednesday as Indonesian Muslims started their observance of Ramadan. Most restaurants and entertainment venues will remain closed during the day and employees can start work later in the morning and finish early.

Late on Tuesday, thousands of faithful attended the city's Istiqlal Mosque for Tarawih, an evening ritual prayer during the holy month. The Indonesian government and the country's two largest Islamic organizations, NU and Muhammadiyah, set Wednesday as the start of Ramadan.