The month of fasting for Muslims, Ramadan, begins this Saturday, April 2 in France, as announced by the French Council for Muslim Worship (CFCM), confirmed this Friday evening the Grand Mosque of Paris in a press release. The CFCM calls on this occasion for prayers “for world peace”.
prayers against war
In a press release issued in mid-March, the Coordination invited participants in Ramadan to “to invoke (the) Creator so that this devastating war which is taking place in the middle of Europe ceases immediately”. The Grand Mosque of Paris and six other federations of mosques also invite to pray “for peace in the world and harmony between the components of the national community”.
During Ramadan, one of the pillars of Islam, believers are advised to abstain from drinking, eating, smoking and having sex, from dawn – as soon as one can “distinguish a white wire from a black wire” says the Koran – until sunset. Alms can be given for the poor, the zakât el-Fitr. She was “estimated this year at seven euros per person”, according to CFCM. On May 2, Ramadan will end with Eid al-Fitr, the “feast of breaking the fast”, says the Coordination.
After two editions marked by restrictions linked to the pandemic – closure of places of worship in 2020, curfew at 7 p.m. in 2021 – Ramadan 2022 is marked by the return of “Tarawih”, night prayers specific to Ramadan, possible at the mosque. However, Mohammed Moussaoui, former president of the CFCM, indicates, in a separate press release, that “Wearing a mask is still strongly recommended in places that do not have sufficient ventilation to the outside”especially “during the Tarawih prayers, given their duration and the high number of participants”.
France counts between five and six million Muslims practicing and non-practicing, according to several studies on the subject, which makes Islam the second religion of the country. The French Muslim community is the first in Europe.