The holy month of Ramadan has begun. Muslims around the world fast, spend time with their families, and engage in prayer and worship. But for us, the Muslims of Gaza, this holy month is filled with anguish and mourning.
For more than five months we have endured massacres, disease, hunger and thirst at the hands of the Israeli army. Their violence and brutality have not ceased or diminished with the beginning of Ramadan.
While many of us struggle to put food on the table for breakfast or find a safe place to pray, memories of Ramadans past keep us warm. Amid the hum of Israeli drones and the sound of explosions, I close my eyes and remember the splendor of Ramadan in Gaza.
Preparations for the holy month always began early. Several weeks before, people would go out to buy all the Ramadan needs.
A favorite place to go would be the Old City and its traditional market, Al-Zawiya. There you could find all the traditional foods of Ramadan: sour pickles, the best dates, delicious olives, spices that filled the air with their aroma, thyme, dried apricot paste to make qamar al-din drinks, dried fruits and various types. of juices, with khoroub (carob) being the most popular.
New clothes would also be a necessary purchase. Prayer dresses would be a popular choice, as would fancy dresses for girls and fancy suits for boys.
Children would hold their parents' hands and ask them to buy one of the colorful lanterns on display that read “hallou ya hallou, Ramadan Kareem ya hallou” (“dear, dear, Ramadan Kareem, dear”).
The streets would be filled with people, decorations would be put up and happy Ramadan songs would be played. The atmosphere of anticipation would be like no other.
Then, on the eve of the first day of Ramadan, the neighborhoods of Gaza would be filled with the sound of taraweeh prayers. Children stayed out late, played in the streets, held lanterns, sang, chanted and set off fireworks to mark the beginning of the holy month.
Families gathered to share the al-suhur meal and pray al-fajr together. Then some would take a nap, others would go out to school and work. In the afternoon, everyone would be back home and it would be time to read the Holy Quran. Children read and memorized the verses at home or in mosques. Parents and grandparents told stories of prophets to their children and grandchildren.
Then it would be time to prepare the food for the iftar meal. An hour before sunset, the entire neighborhood would be filled with the delicious smell of various foods. The kitchen of each house was full of people working hard: one prepared maqlouba (a meat dish with rice and vegetables), another musakhan (a chicken dish) and another mulukhiya (jute soup).
Meanwhile, a neighbor may stop by and bring a platter full of the food his family had just prepared; He, of course, would not be allowed to return home empty-handed.
As dusk approached, the iftar table was set and everyone sat down. Soon the call from the mosques to break the fast would come, accompanied by the melody of the takbirat. Everyone was sharing the delicious food, chatting happily and laughing.
After iftar, men, women and children headed to the mosques to pray tarawih together, as the sounds of the Holy Quran and prayers permeated every part of Gaza. Then came the most joyful moment of the day for the children, when the mothers prepared qatayf, a popular dessert that is only prepared during the holy month.
Once the qatayf is over, families visit each other or gather in front of the television to watch their favorite Ramadan series.
For the people of Gaza, Ramadan is certainly the most special time of the year. Gaza during Ramadan is the most beautiful place on Earth.
But this holy month we cannot celebrate and enjoy worship in peace. The colorful lights and lanterns and the chants and songs have been replaced by the flashes and sounds of Israeli bombs exploding. The joyful noise of children playing outside in the streets has been replaced by the screams of people buried under the rubble after another Israeli bombing. Neighborhoods full of life have been transformed into cemeteries. The mosques are not crowded with people because they are all destroyed. The streets are not full of people because they are all covered in debris. People spend iftar fasting because they have no food or water.
Families do not gather to greet each other and celebrate, but to mourn the dead together. As the holy month of Ramadan begins, we bid farewell to martyr after martyr.
The pain is made much worse by the realization that the world has abandoned the Palestinian people, allowing Israel to continue its genocide during the Muslim holy month.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
