INDONESIA: Faithful in the world's most populous Muslim country attend prayers at the start of the Ramadan holy month

Millions of Muslims attended evening prayers across Indonesia on Saturday (September 23) to pray for peace and harmony for the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The timing of Ramadan, when the faithful fast from dusk to dawn, can vary in different Muslim countries depending of the sighting of the new moon, which marks the start of the month in Islam's lunar calendar. The fasting month in Indonesia will begin on Sunday. Thousands arrived at the Istiqlal Mosque in the capital Jakarta, where worshipper Abdul Choir said: "I hope that Ramadan will bring us momentum for evaluation and reflection as a nation." Ramadan is also a time for worship and apart from the dawn to dusk fasting Muslims must also refrain from smoking and sexual activity. The fast is broken every evening at sunset with prayers and the meal called Ifar. More than one billion Muslims across the world are expected to observe the holy month which ends with the festival of Idul Fitri.

ITN Source | September 24, 2006

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