Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and one of the five pillars of Islam for Muslims, is expected to begin on Friday April 24 in France. Covid-19 crisis obliges and in full confinement, the French Muslims will have to adapt to these new conditions.
The faithful who observe this religious obligation must abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sexual relations from sunrise to sunset for a month. If the health crisis and containment measures do not prevent the observance of individual fasting by believers, it is especially the social and friendly aspect of Ramadan which will be disturbed by the current context.
"We prepare people to live Ramadan in a different way," said France 24 Mohamed Moussaoui, president of the CFCM, an association which aims to represent the Muslim faith in France before state authorities for questions relating to religious practice.
"Daily prayers have been suspended since March 15, and the breaking of the fast for the needy or friends of Muslims will not take place in their usual formats," said Mohamed Moussaoui.
Millions of Muslims are preparing to give up shared meals for the breaking of the fast (iftar), friendly reunions and family reunions, as well as collective night prayers ("tarawih") in mosques, closed as all places of worship in France.
To support believers, the CFCM called on Muslim leaders and imams "to use all the means at their disposal to ensure the continuity of relationships with the faithful", especially the most fragile among them.
When invited to pray at home, practitioners will be able to follow sermons broadcast by mosques, such as the Grand Mosque of Pantin, via social networks or YouTube. For their part, the imams of the Great Mosque of Paris, will offer, on Radio Orient, throughout the month, a daily sermon.
And instead of meeting physically with each other around an iftar, they will also be able to meet virtually thanks to the many videoconferencing applications, in vogue since the start of confinement. "There are aperitifs at a distance, there will be breaks from fasting at a distance", confided recently an association manager to France 24.
"The spirit of Ramadan, that of sharing, must continue, despite the confinement"
While the free distribution of iftar meals to the most deprived, in mosques or by associations, is one aspect of the charitable dimension of Ramadan, Mohamed Moussaoui ensures that there will be "distributions of meals meeting the restrictions in effect on those who need it. "
Secours Islamique France will thus set up food raids for homeless people and the distribution of meal packages in Seine-Saint-Denis and Essonne.
"The spirit of Ramadan, that of sharing, must continue, despite the confinement," said Mohamed Moussaoui.
And even despite the deconfinement, scheduled for May 11, since the places of worship will not reopen, said on April 21 during an audio conference, President Emmanuel Macron to the heads of worship, by providing for an assessment in early June or mid -June to study the possibility of reopening.
Finally, confinement could favor certain spiritual aspects of Ramadan, which are the invitation of believers to meditation and introspection. "For me, a good Ramadan this year is one that respects the confinement instructions, pleaded Abdelkader El Marraki, president of the Union of Muslims of Hérault and manager of the Cévennes mosque in Montpellier, asked about the waves of France Bleu. We ask people of morality, of spirituality, to really listen to what is done in society. "
It is in this very particular context that the CFCM invites the faithful "to build together the alternative solutions which [will] allow them to live, in joy and hope, these important moments of [their] spiritual calendar".
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