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Muslim worshippers participate in the evening 'Tarawih' prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem on March 10, 2024.
Will tensions burst at Al-Aqsa Mosque?
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Monday that the restrictions Israel is imposing on access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, which Jews call the Temple Mount, during Ramadan could lead to an “explosion.” Israeli police reportedly stopped thousands of Palestinians from praying at Islam’s third-holiest site on the first night of Ramadan, occasionally using batons to beat back crowds.
Israeli police said the unrest was an isolated incident, and thousands of Muslims were able to attend Ramadan prayers at the mosque last night.
The compound has long been a flashpoint for violence, and Safadi said the West Bank is already “boiling.” Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, some 400 Palestinians in the West Bank have died in clashes with Israeli forces and armed settlers. Should tensions boil over into an uprising, even more bloodshed is likely.
The question hinges, in part, on Rafah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he was still planning to go forward with a ground offensive — but nothing has happened yet, and the Ramadan deadline set by Israel’s war cabinet has passed. Amid growing international pressure to relieve civilian suffering, Netanyahu knows an invasion risks anger at home and abroad.
An invasion is also complicated by increasing international efforts to provide aid to Gaza, as foreign personnel — soon including US military on the promised floating pier — caught in the crossfire could further isolate Israel.
One example: On Tuesday, a ship carrying 200 tons of food set off for Gaza from a Cyprus port. The ship, the Open Arms, belongs to a Spanish charity and is part of a pilot mission funded largely by the United Arab Emirates and organized by the US World Central Kitchen organization.
For more on Israel’s impasse, watch Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take for GZERO here.
Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, speaks in a pre-recorded message shown on a screen during a press event for Al Quds International Institution in Beirut, Lebanon February 28, 2024.
Ramadan looms heavy over Gaza truce talks
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday called for a march on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem at the start of Ramadan, upping the ante as negotiators work to secure another cease-fire in Gaza.
The Al-Aqsa/Temple Mount compound is sacred to Jews and Muslims, and has long been a flashpoint in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Hamas called its Oct. 7 terror attack “Al-Aqsa Flood,” and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday said the militant group’s push for Ramadan demonstrations is part of a “second phase” of that plan.
Israel has set security restrictions at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, and protests at the compound could lead to a heavy response from Israeli forces — increasing international scrutiny of the Jewish State.
Cease-fire talks up in the air: The clock is ticking for negotiators to secure a truce in Gaza. The Muslim holy month starts the same day as the March 10 deadline that Israel set for Hamas to release hostages — or face an invasion of Rafah.
Amid mounting criticism over its support for Israel, the US has expressed optimism a deal is imminent. Meanwhile, Haniyeh on Wednesday said Hamas was exhibiting “flexibility” in the negotiations, but emphasized the group was prepared to continue fighting Israel.
A chart comparing countries with the largest Muslim populations with corresponding food inflation rates.
The Graphic Truth: Ramadan celebrations now cost more
The holy month of Ramadan has begun for the world's roughly 1.9 billion Muslims. But for many, the joyous feasting with family before and after the Ramadan fast will be overshadowed by inflated food prices thanks to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Majority-Muslim populations in Asia and the Middle East, where many countries rely on food imports, will feel the economic pinch most. We take a look at countries with the largest Muslim populations and their corresponding food inflation rates.
Coronavirus Politics Daily: A different Ramadan, Chile issues immunity IDs, Africa lacks ventilators
Ramadan in the time of COVID-19: Many of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims begin marking the holy month of Ramadan on Thursday, but it will be a commemoration with little precedent as communities around the world have to rethink new ways of incorporating some of Islam's central traditions. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, and it's customary to gather in mosques and hold communal meals to break the fast. But given quarantine orders in countries with some of the largest Muslim populations, including Pakistan, India, and Malaysia, ensuring compliance with social distancing measures while allowing citizens to observe the holiest month on Islam's calendar, will prove challenging for many governments. In Pakistan, for example, some influential Islamic authorities have instructed Muslims to defy government orders that limit the number of people who can attend mosque services and to gather for prayers. Some Arab countries are leaning heavily on clerics to enforce guidelines. Meanwhile, in Iran, one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19, supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei told Iranians to avoid public gatherings during Ramadan and to pray at home – hoping to prevent the chaos seen last month when some Iranian hardliners, bolstered by Shiite clerics, violently stormed shrines that were closed because of the pandemic. In Egypt, meanwhile, actors and production crews have flouted social distancing guidelines in order to produce the country's famed Ramadan soap operas, which are heavily anticipated and widely watched every year.
Africa's ventilator shortage: As countries vie to get their hands on an insufficient global supply of ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic, the entire continent of Africa has a critical shortage of the life-saving machinery. The World Health Organization says there are just 2,000 ventilators between 41 African countries, prompting some doctors in the region to say they feel "defenseless" against the spreading disease. With a population of over 206 million, for example, Nigeria has some 100 ventilators, while South Sudan has just four. Meanwhile, Somalia's health ministry says they don't have access to any machines at all. But even those countries that do have some ventilators stockpiled say that they don't have enough trained medical professionals who know how to operate them. While African countries have so far avoided the worst of the pandemic, the UN warned last week that as the number of COVID-19 cases in the region continues to rise, as many as 3.3 million people could die of the disease unless stricter measures are taken to prevent its spread.
Chile issues first immunity IDs: If we loosen quarantine restrictions, how will we know who is actually safe to work or socialize with? The Chileans have one answer: card everyone. As of yesterday, the government has begun issuing the world's first COVID-19 "immunity" IDs to people who can prove, via testing, that they have recovered from the disease. Chile, which has so far done more testing than any other Latin American country, is still moving toward an expected mid-May peak of infections, but the card scheme is one way that the government wants to balance public health and economic considerations. Critics point out that we still don't know for sure whether people who recover from COVID-19 are immune, and if so for how long. From a political perspective, we wonder how many other countries would be able to impose a system like this, with all the political considerations and privacy concerns that a national, centralized immunity ID systems like this would entail. Would you, reader, be in favor of something like this?Wrecked mosques, police watch: A tense Ramadan in Xinjiang
HOTAN, CHINA (AFP) - The corner where Heyitkah Mosque in China's restive Xinjiang region once hummed with life is now a concrete parking lot where all traces of the tall, domed building have been erased.
Malaysian officials go undercover to spy on fasting Muslims
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian officials are disguising themselves as cooks and waiters to catch Muslims who don't fast during Ramadan, with a rights group Thursday (May 23) blasting the "disgraceful act of spying".
Mahathir: Ramadan not just about abstaining from eating, but also resisting temptation
PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The month of Ramadan is not just about abstaining from eating, but resisting the temptation of wrongdoings, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Shared meals and torch-lit parades: Indonesia Muslims welcome Ramadan
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP) - From cleaning up relatives' graves and sharing food with the poor to holding colourful torch-lit street parades, millions of Indonesians are getting ready to welcome the holy month of Ramadan in the world's populous Muslim-majority country.