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Spirit of Ramadan returns to Iraq’s IS-free Mosul
MOSUL, Iraq, May 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Under the cover of night in the Iraqi
city of Mosul, Rayan and Ali break the silence by drumming to announce suhur,
the pre-dawn breakfast during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Islamic State (IS) group which controlled the city for three years
before its ouster last July had banned drumming, along with other Ramadan
traditions that make up the festive spirit of the dawn-to-dusk fasting month.
But since this year’s Ramadan started in mid-May, Rayan Khalidi and Ali
Mahboub have been doing their nighttime rounds, donning traditional keffiyeh
headscarves and jalabiya robes.
The Ramadan drummers, known as “messaharati”, are “part of the religious
and social heritage of Mosul”, the now war-battered city which has stood for
centuries as a trading and cultural hub of the Middle East, said 25-year-old
Rayan.
But the jihadists of IS decreed that such drumming was a sin, under their
rigid interpretation of Islam enforced by its own courts and henchmen.
Ironically, Mosul residents had a Ramadan much like any other in 2014,
when it started just days after IS had proclaimed its “caliphate” spanning
tracts of Syria and Iraq.
Families descended on Mosul’s tree-dotted parks along the River Tigris in
the relative cool of dusk to share “iftar”, the meal that breaks the daytime
fast.
All across town, men and women gathered in coffee shops and restaurants,
many clutching nargileh water pipes or smoking cigarettes — that was before
IS laid down the law segregating the sexes and banning smoking at the risk of
corporal punishment.
Most of Mosul’s restaurants and open-air cafes then closed their doors.
“Some of them stayed open for business after iftar but people were afraid
to go for fear of punishment by IS who always found some reason to make
arrests,” said 29-year-old housewife Umm Raghed.
– Mosul’s famed dishes –
MORE/MR/ 1125 hrs
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Ramadan is a time for family reunions in Muslim countries, but in Mosul
such events often only come about after several hours of shopping to collect
the ingredients for the elaborate dishes for which the city is famed.
Under IS rule, “women did not have the right to go out, except in cases of
extreme necessity, and even then a woman would have to be accompanied by a
man and fully covered by a black veil”, said Nahed Abdullah, a 32-year-old
taxi driver.
Hassan Abdelkarim, 26, whose sister was killed when their home was bombed
last year, said the jihadists had destroyed many of Mosul’s mosques.
“Now we have to pay attention to hear the call for prayers from distant
minarets to break the fast.”
If it’s tricky to determine the precise time for breaking the fast,
knowing when to start is impossible, according to Abdelkarim, who is
unemployed and lives amid the rubble of Mosul’s devastated Old City.
“We don’t have electricity or mobile phones to know the exact time” when
the sun rises and the daily fast starts, he said.
Abu Salman, 45, never experienced life under the jihadists, having been
displaced before the IS takeover in 2014. He returned to find his home and
shop both destroyed.
“Ramadan used to be the best time of year for business. Now I have no
source of revenue and have to survive on charity,” he said.
While families wait for the launch of the city’s reconstruction and
assistance to help them get back on their feet, the “Moslawis” have revived
another tradition: long tables set up on the streets to feed the poor.
“It’s a beautiful initiative and typical of the people of Mosul who are
known for their sense of solidarity, especially in hard times,” said 45-year-
old Umm Mahmud.
Thanks to the donations, she was able to serve her children a full meal of
chicken, rice and orange juice at a table in the city’s Bab Lakash district.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1125 hrs