http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/07/ramadan-sweden-with-no-dusk-no-dawn-20147614423642407.html
Ramadan in Sweden with no dusk, no dawn
During summer, the sun never sets in Sweden's northernmost town, posing
challenges for Muslims observing the holy month.
Cajsa Wikstrom Last updated: 07 Jul 2014 20:37
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.
"I put double curtains in my room and still, there's light when I'm going
to sleep."
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.
Zero, 15, 25 or 45 hours, it doesn't matter as long as you believe
in what you're doing.
- Hussein Halawa, European Council of Fatwa and Research
"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.
There was no really established Islamic organisation at the time,
or information on the Internet. I had to make up my own rules.
- Abdulnasser Mohammed, chairman of the Islamic association in
Kiruna
"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 year 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."
