Ramadan: Ramaphosa wishes Muslim communities well during holy month

As Muslims in South Africa begin their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, President Cyril Ramaphosa has proffered his best wishes to the Muslim community, highlighting the country’s spirit of Ubuntu and diversity.

During the month of Ramadan, the world’s approximately 1.9 billion Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, usually having a predawn meal before the fast begins.

Unity in diversity

Ramaphosa said Ramadaan is a special period of “spiritual devotion and physical sacrifice”.

“For our Muslim brethren here at home and around the world, this is a sacred time of reflection, prayer and performing acts of charity – values that unite us all.

“South Africa is a country united in its diversity, and this is our greatest strength as we work together to build a better South Africa of equality and opportunity for all,” Ramaphosa said.

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Ramadan

Ramaphosa also highlighted some of Ramadan’s beautiful tenets, such as performing special prayers and feeding the needy.

“As a country, we laud these acts of compassion, empathy and generosity by the Muslim community, which are even more sorely needed in today’s troubled world.

“Even as this is a time of fraternity and spiritual growth for Muslims, we are keenly aware that suffering peoples in Gaza, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and in the troubled Sahel region will experience little cheer this Ramadaan,” the president said.

Ramaphosa reaffirmed the country’s solidarity with oppressed peoples everywhere and called for an end to intolerance, conflict and war.

“We are grateful to be a nation where many cultures and faiths co-exist in harmony — may this also be a time for outreach and building bridges of tolerance and understanding between our different communities,” Ramaphosa said.

Feeding the poor

Meanwhile, feeding the needy as highlighted by Ramaphosa in ensuring the poorest of the poor don’t go hungry during Ramdan, the King Salman Humanitarian and Relief Centre, inaugurated the “Eta’am (food) Basket Project” project in South Africa, distributing about 10,250 food hampers, each weighing approximately 35 kg containing essential food items to last a household up to a month.

“This is a gift from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the people of South Africa in order to express our solidarity, brotherhood and empathy during the Blessed of Ramadan,” said deputy ambassador of Saudi Arabia in South Africa, Hamdi Ahmed Al Sahli.

Hope

“The ‘Ramadan Food Basket’ project in South Africa is part of many similar programmes concurrently being implemented in various parts of the world during the Blessed Month of Ramadan.”

Al Sahli said they hope this initiative will ease the burden on the thousands of needy families experiencing daily challenges in securing their next meal due to financial and other constraints.

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