Ramadan to begin Tuesday in France, Paris Mosque confirms

The month of Ramadan, which takes place once again in the particular context linked to the pandemic, will begin Tuesday in France, the Great Mosque of Paris confirmed on Sunday.

The rector of the mosque Chems-eddine Hafiz confirmed this date during a meeting Sunday evening with several federations of mosques intended to fix the date, even if the latter had been announced ten days ago by the French Council of Muslim worship (CFCM).

Ramadan will end with Eid al-Fitr, the "fast breaking festival" which will take place on May 13th.

No night prayers in mosques

Traveling to Rennes, where anti-Muslim tags were made on the walls of an Islamic cultural center, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin asked "all the prefects" and the police to "strengthen vigilance on the outskirts of Muslim places of worship, particularly during this period of religious holidays, at the dawn of Ramadan ".

Like last year, this month of fasting, praying and sharing is marked by the context of the health crisis.

Due to the curfew and the closing of places of worship at 7 p.m., there is no "tarawih" - those nighttime prayers specific to Ramadan - possible at the mosque.

"Injection" of an anti-covid vaccine "does not invalidate the fast"

The religious authorities also strongly advise against grouping together beyond the home or between neighbors at the time of "iftar", the daily meal for breaking the fast, when it is usually a social, convivial or even festive component of this. month.

The CFCM as the Mosque of Paris also warned the faithful who could wonder about the legality or not of the vaccination, that the latter was not considered as "nutritious".

Therefore, "the injection" of an anti-covid vaccine "does not invalidate the fast".

The Paris mosque has also printed a flyer for the faithful pleading for vaccination: "vaccination is an act of preserving life recommended in Islam", we can read.

France has between five and six million practicing and non-practicing Muslims, according to several studies on the subject (Pew Research Center, Montaigne Institute, Insee, Ined), which makes Islam the second religion of the country.

And makes the French Muslim community the first in Europe.

During Ramadan, one of the pillars of Islam, believers are urged to refrain from drinking, eating, smoking and having sex, from dawn - as soon as one can "distinguish a white thread of a black thread "says the Koran - until sunset.

Fasting is prescribed for pubescent Muslims, but exemptions are provided for travelers, the sick, the elderly, pregnant women or women who have just given birth.

Compensation is possible for those prevented or exempted (fasting carried out later, donations to the needy, etc.).