While Christmas has become more of a secular holiday than a time of worship, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan retains its role as a religious celebration.

Fasting during daylight, combined with abstinence from cigarettes and sex, are intended to distance Muslims from worldly concerns and bring them closer to God.

Ramadan is also the busiest time of the year for Islamic charities. Aishah Ball of Islamic Relief UK says: "Muslims are promised increased reward from Allah-swt (God) for giving to charity at this time of year."

Muslims who save more than around £700 in a year are instructed to give 2.5% of their wealth to those in need. Most do so during Ramadan.

Mosques are central to the celebration of Ramdan

"The wealth that they give is the right of the poor and thus once given acts as a purification of the remainder of their wealth," Ms Ball says.

"Zakah, often translated as the 'poor due,' is one of the five pillars of Islam. Those who have sufficient wealth pay to those who have less. It literally means purity or purification as well as being linked to the term Zakat meaning blessing, growth and development."

Charities such as Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid receive an upsurge in numbers of volunteers as well as in cash donations during the month. This allows them to undertake special programmes for the period, such as the food distribution scheme Islamic Relief is planning.

A moving festival

The combination of fasting and charity may sound worthy but dull, but for millions of Muslims the month of Ramadan, is more about celebration than ritual observation.

Determined by a lunar calendar, Ramadan falls at a slightly different point in time each year.

Dr Jamil Sherif of the Muslim Council of Britain is developing a Ramadan website on the Salaam site in order to give Muslims up-to-date information on when the festival is expected to begin.

He says: "At the moment it is most likely to be the 31st of December that will be the first day of fasting. A group of scholars in Birmingham have decided on that."

Other experts say the new moon will be visible from Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East on December 30, with other parts of the world making their first sighting the following day.

However, plotted calendars that predict the moon's pattern, say the eve of Ramadan is December 28 and fasting starts the next day.

Whenever it begins, fasting continues for 30 days after the moon's appearance. The day after the fast ends is the main celebration of Idd-ul-fitar.

Shopping and fasting

The Director of the Imams and Mosques Council UK, Mohammad Shahid Raza, is the first to admit British Muslims are getting a good deal this year. In early January, there can be fewer than eight hours of daylight - just enough time to go shopping, in fact.

The festival started in the east and spread around the world

"Gift-giving comes at the end of the festival on the day of Idd and on the last 10 days of Ramadan people do a lot of shopping," Mr Raza says. "In some respects it's like Christmas and people will be taking advantage of buying gifts when the January sales begin. That will be a good opportunity."

In the evenings, Muslims gather together to pray and break their fast with a meal called iftar. After this, it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends.

"The month when the Quran was revealed"

The Quran mentions Ramadan only once but it sets out the month's importance clearly: "Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein."

The fast resumes in the morning when "you can plainly distinguish a white thread from a black thread by the daylight: then keep the fast until night," the Quran adds.

Children, the sick, pregnant women and even travellers are exempt from the fast, although they may be required to make up the time later.

Children insist on taking part

Amongst British Muslims, however, the desire to be part of Ramadan remains strong for all ages and many parents find they cannot stop their children from abstaining from food.

Mr Raza says: "It is popular to my surprise. Children love fasting. Their parents discourage them but they insist.

"Luckily the duration is so short during the winter months and my four children have no problem at school. Their teachers know about their diet and they never get detention as the teachers want them to get home so they can eat."

Yusuf Islam runs an Islamic school in London but many mixed schools celebrate Ramadan

At many British schools, Ramadan is marked in the same way as other religious celebrations such as Christmas, with parties, assemblies and card-making.

Nazneem Poonawalla, a teacher at an east London primary school, says many children begin fasting around the age of nine. Her school is almost half Muslim and has many Sikh and Hindu pupils. As a result, they celebrate every religious holiday - even those belonging to faiths of which there are no children enrolled.

"By the end of their time here, they will know a lot about all the religions," Ms Poonawalla says.

Ramadan has now become a part of British culture. The magazine Newsweek notes: "There are more Muslims in Catholic France than there are Protestants or Jews, and Islam ranks as the second-largest religion in Italy, Spain, the UK and Belgium."
 

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