Amir Exchanges Greetings

arabtimesonline.com
Ramadan Kareem

KUWAIT CITY, July 19, (KUNA): The Lawful Moon Sighting Panel of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Justice announced Thursday night that the holy month of Ramadan, 1433 lunar Hijri calendar, will start Friday, July 20, 2012.

The panel held a meeting under chairmanship of Chief of Appellate Court Justice Rashid Al-Sharrah and deputy chiefs of the Court of Cassation justices Youssef Al-Mottaw’ and Ishal Al-Kandry and confirmed that the crescent heralding the advent of Ramadan was sighted this evening.

On this occasion, the panel congratulated HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince, HH the Prime Minister, and the citizens, and expatriates in Kuwait, expressing best wishes for all. 

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meanwhile exchanged greetings with kings and leaders of Arab and Islamic countries on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.

HH the Amir expressed his warm sentiments in cables sent to Arab and Islamic nations.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable on Thursday to His Highness the Amir on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.

His Highness extended warm greetings and wishes of the best of health for His Highness the Amir and that The Almighty bless the whole Arab and Islamic nation with security and stability.

HH Sheikh Nawaf sent a cable of like sentiment on this occasion to National Guard Chief Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah and to Sheikh Mubarak Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah with wishes of prosperity under the care and wise leadership of His Highness the Amir.

The Crown Prince received a cable in reply from His Highness the Amir expressing the same warm sentiments as well as National Guard Chief Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah and Sheikh Mubarak Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Sheikh Nawaf meanwhile, received cable of congratulations from National Assembly Speaker Jassem Mohammad Al-Kharafi, senior sheikhs, and Deputy Chief of the National Guard Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

He also received cables from His Highness the Premier Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and also from the First Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on this blessed occasion.

The Crown Prince also received cables from ministers, governors, MPs, and senior state officials and members of the diplomatic corps, as well as a host of personalities and members of the public.
Furthermore, Sheikh Nawaf received cables from a host of Arab and Muslim leaders and Kuwaiti citizenry on this occasion.

On the other hand, His Highness sent reply cables to all his well-wishers expressing like sentiment and also seized the opportunity to pray to The Almighty to bless the nation’s martyrs with his mercy and their loved-ones with solace.

The history, significance of Ramadan around the world

golfnews.com

Millions of Muslims around the world will observe Ramadan. And as the UAE welcomes this special time of year, Gulf News takes a look at the history, meaning and significance of this important event

• By Noorhan Barakat, Staff Reporter
• Published: 21:43 July 19, 2012

• Image Credit: AHMED RAMZAN/Gulf News
• A man praying outside Al Noor Mosque in Sharjah before Isha Prayer following Taraweeh prayer on the ocassion of the Holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan begins in the UAE on Friday, July 20, in 2012

Dubai  Millions of Muslims around the world will observe Ramadan. And as the UAE welcomes this special time of year, Gulf News takes a look at the history, meaning and significance of this important event.

Ramadan is considered the holiest month of the Islamic calendar as it commemorates Allah sending the Archangel Jibril (Gabriel) to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) to convey to him the first verses of the Quran.

Every Muslim who is past the age of puberty and mentally and physically fit and observes the month, must fast.

The fast starts from dawn and is indicated by the Al Fajr prayer (morning prayer). It ends at dusk and is marked by the Al Maghrib prayer (prayer at sunset). This daily fasting routine carries on every day for the entire month.

There are a few categories of people who do not have to fast.

People with psychological problems (mentally unstable), children under the age of puberty, the elderly, the sick, travellers and pregnant women or nursing mothers are all exempt. 
Instead, they are required to feed at least one poor person a day or pay charity money that is equivalent to feeding one, for every fast they missed.

Related Links

• Ramadan guide for visitors in eight languages
• Police distribute six cannons to mark iftar time

Women on their monthly period are also exempt but must start fasting again once this is over.

Although children are not obliged, many do observe the fast as an exercise.

Usually parents ease their children into the tradition by making them fast for half the day, or for as long as they can, until the child can get through the entire fasting day.  

Fasting crucial 

Fasting is crucial during Ramadan as it is one of the Five Pillars (duties) of Islam and was made obligatory in Ramadan in the second year of Al Hijra.

Al Hijra, which means “the migration”, is when the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and his followers migrated from Makkah, his hometown to Madinah to escape his tribe’s harm and torture. 

Fasting is meant to humble oneself and increase moral discipline as well as serve as a reminder of the plight of those less fortunate who live in hunger and deprivation.

It also has many health benefits as it helps the body to detoxify and speeds up the healing process as the energy usually used for digestion is diverted towards metabolism and the immune system.  

Muslims try to spend more time praying, saying Dua’a (invocations), reciting the Quran and giving more to charity during the month, as the rewards of good deeds at this time are multiplied.

During the month, Muslims aspire to become more pious, generous and good to others while exercising self-discipline.

For this reason, Ramadan’s fast is more than just a food fast.

Fasters should abstain from food, drinks and sexual activities during fasting hours. Negative behaviour such as lying or using foul or insulting language is forbidden in Islam in general, but is a graver sin in the days of Ramadan.

Free iftar tents are set up next to most mosques in the UAE and across the world, so that no one stays hungry when ending their fast.

Every Muslim is also required to give to charity a set amount of money called Zakat Al Fitr at the end of Ramadan. This money is meant to be used to help those less fortunate to buy new clothes and food so they can celebrate Eid.

Ramadan is all about caring, sharing, family and getting closer to Allah.

Families and friends get together over iftar and suhour. Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset or when the Al Maghreb prayer sounds. It is the meal that ends the fast and is the main meal of the day. Suhour is the meal taken before sunrise, which is before the Al Fajr (dawn) prayer. It is the last meal before the fast starts.

Also unique to Ramadan, is the Taraweeh prayers. They are special night prayers held after the Isha prayer (night prayer).

Another common ritual of Ramadan is reciting the Quran. In some countries, Ramadan is marked by colourful lanterns that decorate houses, streets and shopping centres.

Pilgrimages

Ramadan lanterns, come in all sizes, colours and types.

Many Muslims  also flock to Makkah for the Ramadan Umrah. Umrah is one of the two kinds of pilgrimages Muslims make, the other being Haj.

The last ten days of Ramadan are very important to Muslims as they seek to observe Laylat Al Qadr (The Night of Power).  Laylat Al Qadr is supposed to be the night when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Muslims devote more of their time for non-obligatory prayers, Dua’a and Quran recitals during those last ten days.

After Ramadan ends, Muslims celebrate the three day festival of Eid Al Fitr, which literally translates into “The Festival of Breaking the Fast.”

Home-made sweets

Muslims wear their best clothes, prepare food and sweets and spend these days with family and friends.  

The Special Eid prayer is performed in the morning and is held in congregations in mosques or open areas. After the prayer is over, people get together in parks or at each others' houses.

Children are usually given gifts or cash during Eid from family and friends.

Mothers often send their children with gifts of home-made sweets and platters to neighbours as part of the celebrations marking the end of Ramadan.

Ramadan to start tomorrow in Oman

MUSCAT The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs represented by the moon sighting committee, has announced that the sighting of the new moon of Ramadan month 1433 could not be confirmed and that Friday will be the last day of Shaaban month 1433H, while Saturday, July 21, will be the first day of Ramadan month 1433H. The moon-sighting committee held a meeting on Thursday under the chairmanship of HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Salmi, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, and comprising His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hamad Al Khalili, the Sultanate’s Grand Mufti, HE Sayyid Harib Bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, HE Sayyid Khaled Bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, Sheikh Dr Abdullah Bin Rashid Al Siyabi, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court, and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khateeb, judge in the Supreme Court in Salalah. The committee did not receive any notification of moon sighting for Ramadan month. Therefore, Friday will be the last day of Shaaban month 1433H, while the first day of Ramadan will be on July 21. On the occasion, the ministry sent greetings and best wishes of good health and a long life to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said and progress and prosperity to the Omani people and Muslim nations. On the advent of Ramadan, His Majesty exchanged cables of greetings with leaders of sisterly and friendly Arab and Islamic countries.  His Majesty expressed his best greetings along with his best wishes of good health, happiness and a long life to the leaders, wishing the peoples of their countries further progress and prosperity. His Majesty prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow His blessings and bounties on all Muslims and endow them with good faith and let security, peace and stability to prevail over all Muslim countries. The leaders expressed their warm greetings along with their best wishes to His Majesty, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect His Majesty and grant him good health, happiness and a long life to achieve further progress and prosperity for the Omani people. His Majesty exchanged the greetings on this occasion with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, King Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, King Abdullah II of Jordan, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Moncef Marzouki, President of Tunisia, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, President Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir of Sudan, President Dr Bashar Al Assad of Syria, President Shaikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia, President Jalal Talabani of Iraq, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine Authority, President Ikililou Dhoinines of Comoros, President Dr Mohamed Mursi of Egypt, President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz of Mauritania, President Abd Al Rabuh Mansur Al Hadi of Yemen, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, King Al Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin of Malaysia, President Ilham Haider Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad of Iran, President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, President Mohammad Zillur Rahman of Bangladesh, President Gurbanguly Muhamedov of Turkmenistan, President Abdullah Gul of Turkey, President Idriss Deby of Chad, President Ali Omar Bongo of Gabon, President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, President Abdullah Wade of Senegal, President Emomali Rahmonov of Tajikistan, President Almazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, President Dr Mohammed Waheed Hassan, and President Mamadou Tandja of Niger. In Jeddah, July 20 will be the first day of Ramadan. Ramadan will begin on Friday in the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan.

ONA and agencies

Moonsighting for Ramadan 1433

The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia held a meeting in Taif this evening on Thursday the twenty-ninth of Shaaban 1433 AH, for the new moon of Ramadan of 1433 AH. The new moon of Ramadan 1433 AH is proven in the Supreme Court this evening on Thursday the twenty-ninth of the month of Shaaban, corresponding to July 19, 2012, by the testimony of several witnesses, and as true that the Prophet, peace be upon him, he said: (Fast when you see it and stop fasting when you see it), so tomorrow, Friday, to July 20, 2012, is the 1st of Ramadan of 1433 AH.

---

Dublin-based European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) announced that 1st of Ramadan 1433 will be Friday, July 20, 2012. This is based on calculation criteria that there must be the possibility of crescent sighting by naked eye or telescope on any place on earth. To accept the possibility crescent sighting in any place on earth the following conditions must exist: 
a) The moon must set after sunset in the place where sighting is possible 
b) The elevation of the crescent must be at least 5 degrees. 
c) The elongation distance between the sun and moon must be at least 8 degrees ....... Click to see Arabic Text

---

For sighters in Cape Town, South Africa with telescope: I would advise you to reach at the location where you want to see with your telescope on July 19 at 5:45pm so that you can set up your equipment. Focus your telescope at 6 degrees to the right of the sun location (or you can locate the telescope at 123 degrees azimuth i.e. 123 degrees east of true North - Remember, Magnetic North is 25 degrees to the right of True North) and point your telescope at about 2.5 degrees above horizon. Remember, you should have clear vision at horizon line. This moon is very very close to the horizon line. 
I would suggest you pray Maghrib there alone or any companion(s) if any are with you at 6:00pm. Then after prayer stand next to your telescope; close your eyes for about 3 minutes, then look into your telescope. If you do this preparation, I am almost sure you should be able to see the very very thin crescent. Do not forget to email us your finding immediately or ASAP.

---

For sighters in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru, South America with telescope: I would advise you to reach at the location where you want to see with your telescope on July 19 about 15 minutes before sunset so that you can set up your equipment. Focus your telescope at the same azimuth as the sun is (or very slightly to the left) and point your telescope at about 4 to 6 degrees above horizon. Remember, you should have clear vision at horizon line. This moon is very very close to the horizon line. 
I would suggest you pray Maghrib there alone or any companion(s) if any are with you at local Maghrib time. Then after prayer stand next to your telescope; close your eyes for about 3 minutes, then look into your telescope. If you do this preparation, I am almost sure you should be able to see the very very thin crescent. Do not forget to email us your finding immediately or ASAP.

---

According to Fatwa of Grand Ayatollah Hosseini Nassab (Thornhill, Ontario, Canada), Saturday, July 21, 2012 is first day of Ramadan... Click here. 

---

Islamic scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi clarifies that Shari'ah did not mention sighting as religeous act or a requirement for Islamic months; it was a method of attaining certainty for the beginning or ending of the month. The same certainty is now available by very exact calculations of lunar cycles, which should be used to unite the Ummah. 

---

Moon Sighting Solution for Islamic World by Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri.... Click here to see this video.... He argues that the hadith asking for "Ru'ya" does not confine one to "eye sighting" but a more comprehensive meaning based on many Qur'anic aayat and ahadith is "definite knowledge", which could use other means than just sighting with naked eye. He proves it from Qur'an and Sunnah.
 

---

The Juristic Committee of the Institution of His Eminence, the Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (Lebanon), announced that Friday July 20, 2012 is the first day of Ramadan... Click here. 

---

Moon sighting panel in U.A.E. to meet on July 19.... Click here. 

---

This year, the holy month of Ramadan and fasting begins on the night of July 20 and ends on August 18, Absattar Hajji Derbissali, the Supreme Mufti and Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Kazakhstan, said today at a press conference in Almaty..... Click here.

Moon sighting committee sits Friday

Dhaka, Jul 19 (bdnews24.com) – Members of the National Moon Sighting Committee will meet in the city on Friday evening to ascertain commencement of the holy month of Ramadan. 

State Minister for Religious Affairs and also Chairman of the committee Shahjahan Mia will preside over the meeting to be held at the Islamic Foundation conference room in the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, said a press release on Thursday. 

Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, will officially start on Saturday in Bangladesh if the moon is sighted on Friday night. 

Anybody having sighted the moon anywhere in Bangladesh on Friday is requested to instantly inform the committee over telephone, fax or any other means. 

The contact numbers are: Phone - 9559493, 9559643, 9555947, 9556407, 9558337 and Fax - 02-9563397. 

bdnews24.com/si/mi/skb/nir/2302h

July 19, 2012

News and Announcements

The first day of Ramadan 1433H will be Friday the 20th of July 2012.

On behalf of the Board of trustees of Taybah centre,  we would like to wish you and your family a very blessed month of Ramadan.

The spirit of the holy month of Ramadan is a time of renewal, both physically and spiritually, and a time to reflect on how best we can serve Allah (SWT).   We thank you for your continued support and for being an integral part of the community.

We ask Allah (SWT) to accept our fasts and our dua’as.  May Allah (SWT) shower His mercy and forgiveness upon us all.

Assad loses Assef Shawkat, Syria’s shadowy enforcer

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Few knew what General Assef Shawkat really did, or what power he wielded. (AFP)

inShare

By Al Arabiya with Agencies

The world saw only a handful of pictures of Assef Shawkat. Few knew what he really did, or what power he wielded.

But any Syrian would have told you that President Bashar al-Assad’s 62-year-old brother-in-law, reported to have been killed in a suicide attack in Damascus on Wednesday, was one of the pillars of Assad family rule.

Despite a difficult entry into the Assad clan, Shawkat was widely seen as a member of the president's inner circle. After years as deputy head and then chief of military intelligence, he had become deputy defense minister, another position that allowed him to wield power out of the limelight.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called Shawkat’s death “a severe blow to the Syrian regime since he played the main role in operations by regular forces to crush the revolution,” according to AFP.

U.S. diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks described him as both a clever, well-read officer and as part of Syria’s “killing problem.”

Washington imposed sanctions on Shawkat in 2006 on suspicion that he orchestrated the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri and other officials seen as threats to Syrian influence.

“Shawkat has been a key architect of Syria’s domination of Lebanon, as well as a fundamental contributor to Syria’s long-standing policy to foment terrorism against Israel,” the U.S. Treasury said at the time, according to Reuters.

Activists fighting to topple Assad saw Shawkat as the iron fist of the establishment, pushing for a ruthless approach to the rebellion. But Lebanese security sources close to the Assads said Shawkat had always acted as part of a powerful, close-knit inner circle.

“Shawkat prefers force but he is just one part of the decision-making group. This regime is like a network,” said a Lebanese security source close to the Damascus center of power.

The “network” is mostly from Assad’s minority Alawite sect, which dominates Syria’s elite but is now confronted with an uprising led by the underdog Sunni Muslim majority.

When president Hafez al-Assad died in 2000 after almost 30 years in charge, Shawkat was believed to be one of a handful of people who helped to run the country before Bashar took power.

During Bashar’s election campaign, critics made mock posters with caricatures of him, his brother Maher and Shawkat. The caption read: “For the first time in Syria: Vote for one president, get two more absolutely free.”

The joke highlighted the shift in Syrian governance after Hafez’s death, from a personality cult carefully led by one man to a group of co-captains.

Opposition figures say the lack of transparency in government and the secrecy that shrouds top figures is one reason for their difficulty in trying to negotiate with Syria’s rulers.

They say Shawkat appeared in public only twice after the revolt grew into an armed insurgency. He went to Zabadani, a mountain resort near the capital, when the rebels temporarily seized it. Later he went to the city of Homs, center of the uprising, when the army launched an assault on rebel-held areas.

Hundreds were killed in both places.

“Both times, the same thing happened. He met with some rebels, he told them: ‘Move out of the area and we will turn the lights and water back on. The assault will stop’,” said one activist, who asked not to be identified.

“Both times, the rebels withdrew from their positions. The lights and water went back on. And both times, the shelling started the next day.”

“This is what puzzles us: Did he trick the rebels? Or had he simply lost the authority to tell the army what to do?”

Shawkat’s marriage into the Assad family brought him mixed fortunes, and his life read in some ways like something out of the soap operas he was said to write as a hobby.

Shawkat was a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that has dominated the elite since Hafez al-Assad took power in 1970. But other than religion, he had little in common with the Assad children, born into the ruling class.

He left his modest home in the coastal Tartous province and joined the army, working his way up through the ranks.

But his big break came when he divorced his first wife and married Bushra, Bashar’'s older sister.

The move took nerve and nous, given that both the late president and his eldest son and heir apparent Basil both disapproved of Shawkat, according to diplomats and members of the security services.

Basil considered Shawkat too low to join the Assad clan and even jailed him in 1993 to keep him away from Bushra, according to security sources and to U.S. diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks.

Then a year later Basil died in a car crash, and the couple married. Hafez al-Assad made Shawkat deputy chief of military intelligence, and in 2005 Bashar appointed him to head the unit. positions that enabled him to pull strings in Syria's dealings with its troubled neighbors, Iraq and Lebanon.

One leaked American cable called him “the comeback player of the regime.”

But Shawkat’s relationship with the new generation of Assads appears to have been tempestuous.

Diplomats say Maher, Bashar’s younger brother and head of the elite Republican Guard, once shot him. Some believe Bashar himself was wary of his brother-in-law and his sister, who was the favorite of their late father.

“We do know there was a certain amount of rivalry ... Shawkat and Bushra for quite a long time used to think of themselves as more presidential than Bashar and (his wife) Asma,” said British historian Patrick Seale.

Whatever the personal tensions, Shawkat never seems to have wavered in his determination to keep the ruling clan and the Alawite establishment in power.

“They know their fate is shared and that could mean paying the ultimate price,” said the Lebanese source with close knowledge of the Damascus government.

“If one of them falls, they all do.”