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A
Ramadan greeting card posted on the Web site.
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By
Wafa Bubnad, IOL Correspondent
THE
HAGUE, October 23 (IslamOnline.net) – The start of the Muslims’
holy fasting month of Ramadan in The Netherlands was marked by the
launching of a Ramadan Web site by a cohort of Muslim activists.
The
Ramadan site
features information about the dawn-to-dusk fasting, reports on
buzzing activities by mosques and Islamic organizations during the
month as well as a review of Islam in the Dutch press.
The
aim of the Web site, according to its founders, is to
"familiarize non-Muslims in The Netherlands with this holy month
that carries a special significance."
The
founders, according to information posted in their Web site, were
motivated by the fact that most non-Muslims in the European country
know so little about the fasting month and have, therefore, some
misconceptions about Ramadan and Islam in general.
Another
main goal of the Web site is to "post the members of the [Muslim]
community on the religious activities supervised by Islamic
organizations in the main Dutch cities."
The
site founders, all Dutch citizens mostly hailing from Turkey and north
African countries, said all information available on their Web site is
free of charge.
The
Web site is endorsed by a number of well-known Dutch sites including www.lokum.nl,
which reports on the affairs of the Turkish community, www.islam.pagina.nl,
which features information about Islam, and www.maghreb.nl,
focusing on the news of citizens from north African countries.
Ramadan
in Press
The
Ramadan site posts articles published in the Dutch newspapers about
the holy fasting month, given prominence in the media.
Such
articles include general information about Ramadan and interviews with
scholars and prominent figures n the Muslim community.
One
article published by the Haagsche Courant newspaper, and posted
on the site, notices that during the holy month differences otherwise
grabbing the Muslim community take a low profile.
It
also highlights the benefits of fasting to the health and how some
Muslims miss that with their bad eating habits.
All
Fasting
Another
article posted on the Ramadan site features the result of a survey by
the MCI communication giant, showing that the sweeping majority of
Muslims in The Netherlands fast.
The
poll shows that 99 per cent of Muslims hailing from north African
countries observe the fasting, compared to 88 per cent of Muslims of
Turkish origin.
It
also indicates that 99 per cent of Muslims hailing from the north
African countries and 98 per cent of Muslims of Turkish origin
celebrate `Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month.
The
survey sample included 204 Muslims hailing from the north African
countries and the same number of Muslims of Turkish origin living in
the four main cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
Muslims
in Holland—estimated at 1 million out of the country's 16
million—have established over the past 30 years hundreds of
religious, social, and cultural organizations, many of which receive
grants from the Dutch authorities.
