This year, the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Iraq was marred by a series of explosions and attacks that rocked the capital Baghdad when suicide bombers targeted several police stations in the Al-Sayidia, Al-Khadra, Al-Doura and New Baghdad areas, and car-bomb explosions claimed the lives of more than 40 people and wounded 224 others.

After 10 years of economic sanctions, the beginning of the month of Ramadan saw Iraqis suffer yet another embargo under US occupation.

Although the interim Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) declared the lifting of the curfew during the month of Ramadan, many people are convinced that the atmosphere this Ramadan will be similar to that of previous years: the security situation is still chaotic, and escalating price increases bring to mind the dim images that prevailed during previous years, when economic sanctions put an end to many social events, including rites and rituals usually upheld during Ramadan.

The Taraweeh prayer (unique to the month or Ramadan) used to be held in tens of mosques in Baghdad. Now, however, many people prefer to pray at home given the continuous power outages, and few venture to pray at the mosques for fear of being targeted by robbers.

Iraqi Muslims have openly differed with regard to the start of the holy month this year: while the IGC issued a statement that was broadcast through the Iraqi Media Network stating that Monday would be the first day of Ramadan in accordance with a legal ruling issued by the Moon-Sighting Committee of the House of Fatwa and Teaching at the Al-Nida mosque, the Society of Muslim Scholars, based at the mosque of Abi-Haneefah Al-Nu`man, regarded Sunday as the first day of Ramadan.

Differences could also be seen among the various mosques: some Iraqis believe that the Taraweeh prayer will differ from one mosque to another owing to the absence of the annual edict from the Ministry of Endowment, which used to define the number of rak`aat (prayer units) of the Taraweeh prayer.

Several Sunni scholars, including Shaikh Hasan Al-Hadeethi and Shaikh Muhannad Abdullah Al-A`thami, stress that they have not departed from their usual path - they followed the edict of the Scientific Council of the Ministry of Endowment (which includes all Sunni scholars and jurists). The edict set the number of rak`aat at 11 (eight rak’aat for the Taraweeh prayer and three rak’aat for the Witr prayer), which is in line with the Sunnah (the way) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). And since most mosques in Iraq followed the Hanafi mathhab (school of thought), which regards obedience to the Sultan - whether or not he is a just ruler - as a legal duty, they abided by this edict to avoid division and to unite Muslims in prayer.

Iraqis are facing a sharp increase in the prices of foodstuffs at a time when unemployment is rife. Thus, preparing meals for Iftaar (breaking of the fast) has become a source of embarrassment for many housewives, whose efforts in this regard are hampered by rising costs. For example, the price of one kilogram of meat has rocketed to 7,500 dinars (equivalent to 37.5 US dollars). Iraqis expect further price increases in the coming days - an unfortunate situation which they have gotten used to. They blame traders for taking advantage of the advent of Ramadan to raise their prices to unreasonable levels. The costs of fruits and vegetables have reached double the prices a few days prior to Ramadan. This has led to rising discontent among Iraqis despite the IGC’s attempt to alleviate their hardship through granting every government employee a 6,000-dinar Ramadan bonus (equivalent to 30 US dollars). Unfortunately, those not employed by the government, who constitute the largest segment of society, did not benefit from this gesture. Some Islamic charitable organizations have set up Iftaar feeding programs and started distributing clothing and foodstuffs to poor families, and mosques are urging affluent members of the society to support the less fortunate.