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TIRANA, October 10 (IslamOnline.net) - Albanian Muslims
are bracing themselves for the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the
secular southeastern European country.
The Islamic Sheikdom in Tirana, the highest Islamic body
in
Albania
, has paid $4,000 for the state television to buy airtime to broadcast
part of the Maghrib Adhan (call to Sunset Prayer that mark fast
breaking), an official source told IslamOnline.net.
After the downfall of communism in 1991,
Albania
adopted a strict secular system, though it guarantees the right to
freedom of religion.
The Sheikdom is also setting stage for a series of
seminars across the country during the holy month, so that Muslims can
learn more about the merits and virtues of observing the dawn-to-dusk
fasting.
It further invited officials, Arab diplomats and public
figures to attend such get-togethers.
Private televisions are now competing to lure more
Muslim viewers during the holy month.
Some stations allow free airtime for the Sheikdom
scholars all over the month, while others will broadcast the Adhans
(call to prayer) and the Tarawih prayer live from
Makkah
,
Saudi Arabia
.
Muslims make up a majority of 75 percent of
Albania
’s 3.2 million population.
Iftar Banquets
Iftar (fast breaking meals) banquets for the needy and
the passers-by are a key feature of Ramadan in
Albania
.
But this year several municipalities across the country
announced, for the first time, they would host a number of banquets as a
sign of goodwill and reverence for Islam.
Turkish Imams are usually dispatched to
Albania
and other Balkan countries in Ramadan to lead the worshippers in their
prayers and recite the Noble Qur’an.
There are now some 270 mosques in
Albania
out of 1667 established before the advent of anti-religion Communism.
But the beginning of Ramadan still divides Muslims in
Albania
, with one camp following the Turkish calendar, while the other depends
on crescent sighting.
The European Council for Fatwa and Research has issued
on October 6 a statement announcing that the first day of Ramadan would
fall on Friday, October 15, according to astronomical calculations.
While one group of scholars sees that Muslims in other
regions and countries should follow crescent sighting as long as these
countries share one part of the night, another states that Muslims
everywhere should abide by the lunar calendar of
Saudi Arabia
.
A third, however, disputes both views, arguing that
Islam is against division and disunity, since Muslims, for instance, are
not allowed to hold two congregational prayers in one mosque at the same
time.
This group believes that the authority in charge of
ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a certain country is the body
entitled to announce the start of the holy month.
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