介紹在北極圈附近封齋的穆斯林情況。
Kiruna,
Sweden - During
this year's holy month of Ramadan, when consumption of food and water is
prohibited between dawn and dusk, how do Muslims
observing the fast manage in the far north of Scandinavia, where the sun
never sets?
An estimated 700 Muslims are spending Ramadan in the
mining town of Kiruna, located 145km north of the Arctic Circle and surrounded
by snowcapped mountains throughout the summer. Many of them are recent asylum
seekers, sent to Kiruna while their claims are processed.
The
sun stays up around the clock from May 28-July 16, which constitutes half of
the fasting period this year.
"I
started Ramadan by having suhoor with the sun shining in my eyes at 3:30 in the
morning," said Ghassan Alankar from Syria, referring to the meal just
before dawn.
Since there is no central authority in Sunni Islam that could issue
a definite religious ruling, or fatwa, Muslims in the north are using at least
four different timetables to break the fast.
Alankar sticks to Mecca time, Saudi Arabia, "because it's the birthplace of
Islam". But he is worried about whether his fast will be accepted by God.
"I'm
not sure I'm doing the right thing," said Alankar, who arrived in Kiruna
seven months ago after a hazardous journey via Lebanon, Turkey, and Greece.
"Only when I'm in God's house, if I make it to heaven, I will
know."
No
dusk, no dawn
The
start of Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the new moon, which moves
about 11 days back in the Gregorian calendar each year. About every 33 years, Ramadan falls at the same time.
A
majority of those who fast in Kiruna follow the timings of the capital
Stockholm, 1,240km further south, after being advised by the
European Council of Fatwa and Research (ECFR), a Dublin-based private
foundation composed of Islamic clerics.
"In
Stockholm, there's day and night," Hussein Halawa, secretary-general of
the council, told Al Jazeera, explaining the decision. He was personally
invited to northern Sweden from Dublin this year to experience the lengthy
daylight and give advice.
Idris
Abdulwhab, from Eritrea, follows the ECFR fatwa, which means his longest period of fasting will be 20 hours.
"Zero,
15, 25 or 45 hours, it doesn't matter as long as you believe in what you're
doing," he said. "But we're human beings; of course it's hard sometimes."
One
of those who has chosen to fast according to the local prayer times listed online is Fatima Kaniz. In a
homely apartment overlooking mountains and mining facilities, she prepares a
Pakistani fast-breaking dinner, or Iftar, for 8:30pm as the persistent sun
penetrates the window blinds. Oil sizzles in a pan as she drops in pakoras, a
vegetable snack made with chickpea flour.
She
recalls her first day in Kiruna five years ago, in June.
"I
waited for the sun to go down so I could pray maghreb," she said,
referring to the sunset prayer. "I waited until 3am, until my Chinese
roommate at the asylum centre found me and explained it was pointless to wait.
I thought, 'What kind of strange place is this?'"
The
fare of the day consists of the Pakistani Ramadan staples chapati and pakoras
served with raita, with the addition of Swedish fish fingers and lentil stew.
During
two-thirds of Ramadan, following the Kiruna prayer
times means that Kaniz fasts for about 18 hours. But due to the sun's
movements, she will fast for a whole 23 hours during one of those days.
"I
live in Kiruna, and I pray according to Kiruna time all year round. Why should
I change this during Ramadan and suddenly follow Stockholm?" she asked.
She
followed the same system during four previous Ramadans - the last one also at
the height of summer.
"Sometimes
I got tired and took the bus home from work instead of walking, but otherwise,
I felt fine," she said. "But I looked at the clock many times."
The
weather in Kiruna varies widely during the summer months. Within a day, 25
degrees Celsius and sunshine can turn into 10 degrees and pouring rain.
December Ramadan: Perpetual darkness
When
Ramadan falls in December, however, Muslims will face the opposite of midnight
sun: polar night. For two weeks, the sun does not rise above the horizon.
"Why
don't they come to me to ask about Ramadan then?" asks Halawa of the ECFR.
He said a conference will be held later this year to issue a winter timetable
for both fasting and prayers.
Muslim
prayer times also follow the sun - which means that during winter, all five
prayers can fall within a time span of two hours.
Abdulnasser
Mohammed, of Somali origin, was new to Sweden and Kiruna the last time Ramadan
fell under the Midwinter night, in 2000.
"There
was no really established Islamic organisation at the time, or information on
the internet. I had to make up my own rules", he said. "I fasted for
about five hours."
Mohammed, who is now the chairman of the Islamic association in
Kiruna, follows the fasting times of Istanbul in the summer, since Turkey is
the Muslim country closest to Sweden.
But
he explains, in his view, everyone is free to choose.
"Islam
isn't rigorous," he said. "Ramadan is not about starvation or about
inflicting injury on yourself. People must choose what works for them."
Apart
from the Syrians, who have fled the war in their homeland, Eritreans form the
largest Muslim community in Kiruna.
Hawa
Fidel and Alia Hassen host a plentiful Iftar at Stockholm's fast-breaking time,
10:10pm, in the apartment they share. They have prepared seating on the floor
and filled trays with sponge-like injera flatbread, spicy beef stew, pastries,
and other traditional Eritrean food.
The
men chatting in the living room are already planning their next communal meal.
They have set up a system to share the costs fairly, with participants paying
different amounts depending on their incomes. Some have jobs. Others, whose
applications for asylum have been rejected, get by on a monthly $200 grant
provided by the government.
"Eating
together with friends remind me of Eritrea," said Fidel, who is still
waiting for permanent residency after living in Kiruna for three years.
But she misses going to a mosque for tarawih, the special prayers at night
during which long portions of the Quran are recited.
The
Muslim community in Kiruna is using a hall in an apartment block as a mosque,
but so far it is only open for Friday prayers.
On
the first Friday of Ramadan, as the rain trickled down, about 40 men and four
women, including Fidel, gathered there at Stockholm's dhuhr prayer time.
Safwaan
al-Taieb, who used to do the call to prayer in his neighbourhood mosque in
Syria's Deraa before he fled the country last year, recited a melodious adhan.
Al-Taieb's
sister came with him to Sweden, but because she fasts according to Mecca
timings and he Stockholm, they do not eat together.
Besides
the rest of the family, he said the social nature of Syrian society is what he
misses the most - during Ramadan and the rest of the year.
"In Syria, you don't eat only with your family. Everyone is
welcome, we bring plates of food to our neighbours, we invite others. If you do that with Swedish people,
they think you're crazy."
"Next
Ramadan, God willing, I'll be back in Syria."
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