For Ireland's Muslim community Ramadan ended at sunset yesterday. Ramadan, a month of fasting which began on December 19th, fell during Christmas this year for the first time since Imam al-Hussein came to Ireland 16 years ago. Eid-al-Fitr, the three-day festival of the breaking of the fast, which according to the imam is the Muslim equivalent of Christmas, begins this morning .
During Ramadan Muslims abstain from eating and drinking every day from dawn until sunset. Smoking is also prohibited. The period of the year when Ramadan falls changes by 11 days every year as the Muslim calendar is shorter than the Gregorian. Although the fact that Ramadan fell during Christmas was a source of stress for some families, it did offer the advantage of relatively short days of fasting, according to the imam. He smiled as he remembered his first Ramadan in Ireland in June 1984 when his daily fasts were 18 hours long. Most Muslim countries are near the equator, which ensures almost equal day and night throughout the year.
Since Imam al-Hussein, of the South Circular Road mosque, came to Ireland from Sudan in 1983 he has seen Ireland's Muslim community grow from 3,000 to 8,000. Most Muslim countries are represented in his diverse congregation, with Moroccans and Somalis facing Mecca side by side with Pakistanis and Afghans.
The mosque, a converted Presbyterian church, had just been opened when he arrived. A second, purpose-built mosque was opened in Clonskeagh in 1996, and there are mosques in Cork, Belfast, Derry and Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo.
The Muslim National School in Clonskeagh will be closed for the festival when children will receive presents, and families and friends will visit each other after morning prayer today.