Kotzia Square like “Mecca”

Source:  Ethnos

Διαβάστε στα Ελληνικά

Translation © Muslim Association of Greece

The huge square opposite of the town hall of Athens was turned into an outdoor mosque yesterday. The president of the Muslim Association of Greece noted that Greece sends a message of education and culture today. 

The economic crisis was the cause of the ceremony not being held in OAKA (Olympic stadium), as other times, as the Muslim community preferred to spend their lease money to cover the livelihood needs of certain members.

Prayer in a scene of reminisce that of … Mecca, was held by two imams from Egypt, invited by the Association. Like always, the men and women prayed separately, as earlier they had rolled out the carpet. Great was the participation of believers from Africa, while many were those who wore traditional costumes.

Muslims quickly “spread” across the square from 7.00 in the morning and the organizers spoke of big concentration. This colorful and multi-racial ‘tapestry’ created a very impressive scenery in central Athens and several were the passers-workers and tourists, who stopped to observe the ritual.

In a speech, the president of the Muslim Association of Greece, Naim Elghandour thanked the Mayor of Athens, Nikitas Kaklamanis, for the permission of the square and noted that, “the attitude of the Greek state today is a response to the American priest who wants to burn the Koran, but also to Angela Merkel who awarded the Danish cartoonist who ridiculed the drawings of Muhammad “.

Speaking with the “Ethnos” newspaper, Mr. Elghandour noted that the message sent today is that Greece is the capital of education and culture. For the Islamic religion, yesterday was a significant day. The strict fasting of Ramadan ends and the great mass prayer is a thanksgiving to the prophet. A day earlier, representatives of Muslims visited the Observatory of Penteli and had confirmed the position of the moon that the fasting is over. After the prayer, they gave out sweets to the children, while many homes made a festive table. The next mass prayer will be approximately in 70 days.

Responses
Seraphim against Kaklamanis

The granting of Kotzia square by the Mayor of Athens Nikitas Kaklamanis, for prayer of Muslims has prompted a strong reaction of Eparch Seraphim of Piraeus, who in a statement refers to it as “unacceptable behavior harmful to the main state religious faith.”

“With feelings of grief”, as the Eparch points out in his statement,” we have witnessed the concession of the municipality of Athens so irresponsibly to permit Kotzia Square to be used by Muslim religious persons.

Translated by: Elena Nikolova

Weird reasons why people fast and what your real reason should be

It was lunch time and we were eating, well, except for the host.  She told me she was fasting because it was Friday and every Friday she fasts, out of habit. 

I’ve seen weird things in my life but this one confused me.  A few conversations beforehand, I discovered that she didn’t believe in God anymore.  So, the obvious perplexing question I had was why she would keep fasting if she was not doing it for God??

I guess because as Muslims, we get this question a lot.  Why do you fast in Ramadan?  I usually say that we do it for God to gain piety as the Quran says,

“O you who believe! fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed upon those before you in order that you may attain taqwa.”[Surah al-Baqarah 2:183].

Notice that I translated “taqwa” as piety.  Well, that’s not quite accurate.  Recently, we were all gathered around and the same question came up, how do you translate this rich Arabic word “taqwa” into English?

Some say it is piety, some say fear, others say it is obedience to God.  I’ve heard many translations but nothing quite encompasses the original Arabic word.  The funny thing though is that if you leave it untranslated and just say taqwa, most Muslims know exactly what you mean by the word and sense a deep emotional feeling.

Here’s a good translation of taqwa I found:

Taqwa is obedience to God hoping for the mercy of God and it is staying away from the disobedience of God fearing the punishment of God. 

And just by fasting properly, you can automatically gain taqwa.  Before I fasted every year, I never imagined that would be the result, but when you do it properly, you would be amazed at how much taqwa you gain.

 But do you think that the lady who fasts every Friday out of habit and not for God can gain taqwa?  Most likely not. 

People fast for weird reasons but if we want to feel full and take the maximum benefit from things in life, we need to know why we do things and not just do them because our ancestors did so or society tells us to do so.

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photo credit: diekatrin

Revealing the real purpose of fasting

I used to find it odd – if not heretic – to starve yourself from sunrise to sunset.  Anything that went against fasting in the Greek Orthodox way was indeed heretic, or so I thought. 

The first time I heard Muslims fast in a different way, my stomach churned and I thought, man you guys are completely off the mark.  You need to be saved!

At that point, I’d never researched the proofs for fasting in the Bible or the Quran, but it was my pride that would never let a thought into my brain that said that they might have proof for what they were saying while I have absolutely none – or at least knew of none. 

And frankly, I didn’t care.  Fasting was one of the zillion rituals of the Greek Orthodox faith that you ‘just believed in’  and didn’t question.

The weirdest thing to me was that Muslims would not only fast from food but actually from ‘bad’ things like drinking, going to bars or dating.  Now, that for me was completely illogical !  What does food have to do with having fun?

It was normal for all of us Greek Orthodox to fast before Easter and go out and have fun at the exact same time – without feeling an inch of guilt.

Once you find out why you are supposed to fast in the first place (which, as a Christian I never really did), then you’ll understand that it’s not about the food.

Muslims believe that God revealed to mankind to fast because through self-restraint, you can become pious.

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).  (Quran 2:183)

You might be asking, What does piety have anything to do with it?  I was confused at the beginning too but when I started fasting – starving myself from dawn to dusk actually – I realized that it was a true sacrifice.  

It’s like having a close friend that you love more than you love yourself.  You give up something that you love the most to make her happy.  It’s not like you are forced to do this.  You choose this because you love her.  That’s when your relationship has gone to a new level – because she’s seen the proof that you put her before yourself. 

That’s in a way, the purpose of fasting.  When you choose to give up something that is permissible, like food, you realize that you want to because you love God more than yourself.  And you want to show Him that love.  That’s the journey of piety.

So, really, for anyone who is fasting, whether Muslim, Christian or other, fasting was prescribed for all of us as the verse says.  Only when you know what the purpose of fasting is can you really taste the journey of love for God.

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  photo credit: opusbloo

Moon sighted: Ramadan begins in Greece

Ramadan 2009 Timetable for Greece

Read in Greek

Asalamu Alaikom

We would like to inform you that the Muslim community of Greece will fast on Saturday based on Greek calculations.

The Muslim Association of Greece with reps from all national communitiesvisited the Athens Observatory this evening as usual and saw with their own eyes through the telescope.  The Sunni and Shia, Egyptians,  Greeks, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Kurds etc.  all united to start the fasting month on Saturday, 22nd August 2009.

Also note that the Muslim minority of Thrace will fast on Friday following the Balkan countries.

We would like to warmly thank  the Athens Observatory for their gracious cooperation.

I wish all of you a blessed Ramadan!

Photo gallery

How to prepare for your best Ramadan

Ramadan 2009 Timetable for Greece

Read In Greek

Ramadan is in the air – I can feel it.

I started off with physical preparation. That means stocking up on groceries for suhoor and iftar and thinking of buying everything I need for Eid. I want to get all that stuff out of the way so I have full concentration in the last 10 nights.

Now, I’m focusing on mental preparation. If you need an eman rush, I suggest these programs:

The Fasting and the Furious  (www.ilminar.com)
Free Ramadan Cours http://study.taleemalquran.com/registration
Free Heartwheel Journal www.heartwheeljournal.com

I’ve been listening to some Ramadan lectures, including these above. But one thing I have left to complete is my Power Dua List. This is something that I do annually now after a sheikh suggested it to us.

Think about something that you’ve really wanted for the longest time. Would you like to have it? Well, here’s what you do:

1. Write a massive list of everything you want both in this life and the hereafter.
2. Choose the top 5 duas from this list.
3. Write them down somewhere where they can always be with you.
4. Say these duas every night in Ramadan.

If you say them every night, you will hit Laylatul Qadr insha Allah. 

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Ramadan – month of fasting
Eid – celebration holiday
Suhoor – meal before fasting
Iftar – meal to break the fast
Eman – faith
Dua – supplication, prayer
Laylatul Qadr – the “night of power”, the night that is better than 1000 months

My first Ramadan

GreeksRethink

Dizzy, Dehydrated and Disoriented

After thoroughly investigating Islam, I accepted Islam in 2007.  The month of fasting was approaching for Ramadan.

I had read all about the benefits of fasting and the rewards and I wanted maximum reward. I thought it will be easy and straight forward. I have to be frank. As the first time of fasting began, I was fine for the first few hours. Afterwards, the problems started. I was feeling dizzy, dehydrated and disoriented. But I was determined. I wanted maximum reward.

In my mind, I could not understand why I was feeling this way. I had fasted before in Greece as a Christian.But then that was different. I had been able to drink water.  Little did I know that my system had not even had a trial run of a true Ramadan fasting. I was upset, disappointed and felt like a failure.

I spoke to a few other Muslims and they all said, “Don’t worry. You will get used to it. It is easy for us as we have been fasting since we were 7.”

Now this was no comfort. I wanted to share in Allah’s rewards and I was feeling dangerously close to breaking the fast. I carried on regardless and I remember that I could not even drive on the way back from work. I had to pull up and fall asleep on the side of the road.

When I got home, I was a little ill and when Iftar time came,………. I can remember the taste of that cup of tea. It really tasted like tea.

Anyway, I revived and I spoke to a few people of knowledge.

Fasting is something we do for Allah SWT and for Allah only. We pray for our own benefit, for our salvation and peace. For our own soul. But fasting is for Allah SWT. But Allah SWT does not want to see us suffering and being  ill.

So allowances have been made for the traveller and the ill. If you can not fast due to illness or because you are travelling Allah has given us this gift. The gift that we can not refuse: not to fast but give money “ fidia” which is a specified amount of money per day you can not fast and try to make up the fasting days later.

I am not saying not to fast. I am saying that if you face adverse difficulties please do not feel as I felt that first Ramadan day.

Don’t miss out on Jan. 6-7

This is a reminder that it is highly encouraged (mustahab) to fast on the ninth and tenth day of Muharram. The  month of Muharram started on December 29 so Aashoora, the 10th of Muharram, will be on Wednesday, January 7, 2009.

Please keep or Palestinian brothers and sisters in our duas during our fasting days.

 

 

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of ‘Aashooraa’. He said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘This is a righteous day, it is the day when Allaah saved the Children of Israel from their enemies, so Moosa fasted on this day.’ He said, ‘We have more right to Moosa than you,’ so he fasted on that day and commanded [the Muslims] to fast on that day.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari)

Fasting on the day of ‘Aashooraa’, was obligatory but when fasting Ramadaan was made obligatory, the obligation to fast ‘Aashooraa’ was lifted, i.e., it was no longer obligatory to fast on this day, but it is still desirable (mustahabb).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “For fasting the day of ‘Aashooraa’, I hope that Allaah will accept it as expiation forthe year that went before.” (Reported by Muslim).

‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fasted on ‘Aashooraa’ and commanded the Muslims to fast as well, they said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, it is a day that is venerated by the Jews and Christians.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘If I live to see the next year, insha’ Allaah, we will fast on the ninth day too.’ But it so happened that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed away before the next year came.” (Reported by Muslim)

 

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Note:  This information has been provided in an email courtesy of www.alhudainstitute.ca. 

10 days more blessed than Ramadan – starts TODAY

With Eid Al-Adha coming up, here are some actions you can do during this time for those who are not perfoming hajj:

• Fasting
• Saying subhan Allah wal Alhamdulillah, wa La illah illah Allah wa Allahu akbar
• Extra voluntary deeds of prayer, charity, sacrifice an animal etc.
• Repentance
• Dhikr

 

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Footnotes:

Hajj – pilgrimage to the first house of God built by Prophet Abraham and his son

Subhan Allah – glory be to God

Alhamdu liillah – all praise (and thanks) be to God

La illah illah Allah – there is no object worthy of worship except God

Allahu akbar – God is the greatest

Dhikr – remembrance of God

Missing the target in Ramadan

 

When a person asks you, “Why are you fasting”, how do you answer? 

I’ve heard some people say, “because it’s the month of Ramadan”, “it’s the month of blessings”, “because I am Muslim” or “because Allah orders us to”.  Or how about the one that says, “because there are many health benefits to it – even doctors have proven this”.

But really, why are you fasting?  Allah told us it is “in order for you to attain taqwa” (Quran: 2:183).

As someone has said before, this is a month of fasting – not feasting.  Sometimes, we have to wonder if we are missing the target.

If your a husband, it’s hard to resist the urge to ask your wife to cook 10 different foods of the finest dishes and if your a woman, it’s hard to say NO to the tremendous pressure to cook 10 different foods that will make you practically live in the kitchen for the entire month.   And if you are living at home, well, you’ve got it easy (for now) but you still have to resist the urge to EAT all of those foods – at once.

While some of us get bogged down with all that food in our belly at iftar time, we can remember that the whole point of Ramadan is to GIVE UP food in order to have more time for worship, more time for pondering, more time to purify our souls. 

With a full belly, all you really want to do at this point pretty much is sleep.

In essense, this is a month for purifying our souls.  When you give up basic necessities of life like food, drink and urges, you will purify your soul and come closer to Allah.

Check yourself.  Are you feeling an increased feeling of taqwa in these past 14 days?

 

Note: taqwa can be loosely translated as God-consciousness

6 easy ways to receive instant rewards

 

This is the month of giving, but what kind of giving? What comes to mind when I say the word ’sadaqa’?  I know for me, I think of money right away but it doesn’t always have to be that way.  You can do multitudes of great things for people in other forms of saqadah, or charity.

Which of these have you done lately?

• give someone a ride
• help your parents with their daily chores
• say salaam to a stranger
• smile to your spouse or children
• babysit your friend’s kids so they can pray taraweeh
• feed a fasting person

And the list goes on… which one will you do today?

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