The Iftar and the Desert: How a Californian Marched for Palestine to Educate, Protect, and Feed the Children of Gaza
He says that the purpose of the Iftar is to create a positive image of the Muslim community. “We want peace with every nation.”
The Council on American Islamic Relations in California said that Muslims give to charity as well as eating and drinking during the holy month.
During the month of Ramadan, Islam says to teach us to be more compassionate towards those who have less status than we do.
Ayloush is hurt by the war’s effect on Muslims’ ability to live out their faith. In the past, Muslims in the U.S. might send money or care packages to their relatives and friends in Gaza but the war has changed that.
It is almost impossible to get food and drink into Gaza regardless of how much we raise.
Before the war, hundreds of supply trucks entered the region every day. Israel allows in a fraction of U.N. aid convoys. The nearly 2 million people who live in Gaza are living in a world where they are not getting enough calories.
Rania Sbaita, a Lake Forest, Calif., resident, plans to continue her public activism in support of her friends and family in Gaza by praying and doing acts of charity. She wears a black sweatshirt that has a phrase “Gaza:soul of my soul” printed on it.
“We went to a march in San Francisco to join the West Coast contingency of a national March for Palestine,” she says, picking up a hand-drawn placard she made for the rally in Northern California a few weeks ago.
Marwan Sbaita’s cultural pride comes from Rania Sbaita. Usually during the holy month, he would call relatives in central Gaza to talk about what they were eating that night to celebrate.
Since the war began, he’s only had sporadic communications from them, sometimes getting just a brief text message in the middle of the night. Marwan hasn’t been able to reach his aunts and uncles and cousins in weeks. He knows their hunger is not the same as it is during the daytime.
“They will not have a meal, so it shatters me,” he says. “When I eat – when it’s time to break my fast – I’ll be taking bites with a great deal of pain, sorrow, suffering, agony, and consumed with guilt.”
Source: Muslims prepare for a more somber Ramadan due to the Israel-Hamas war
The Los Angeles Times-Sunday Evening at Al Quds and Al-Aqsa: Celebrating the Second Annual Grand L.A. Interfaith Iftar
More than 400 people are being invited to a meal in suburban Los Angeles by an eventorganizer who wants to steer clear of politics. During the celebration, he plans to acknowledge the war.
“We consider Ramadan to be the month of Al Quds (Jerusalem), it’s the month of Al-Aqsa mosque, and we have been preparing to welcome as many worshippers as we can,” said Omar Al-Kiswani, the director of Al-Aqsa.
The Pakistan American Chamber of Commerce is planning its Second Annual Grand L.A. Interfaith Iftar, in which people from all faiths come together to enjoy the break of the fast.
Muslim communities in the U.S. are diverse, with countries of origin spanning the world, from Indonesia to Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. Those communities are engaging with the Israel-Hamas war in different ways.
“God tells us that fasting is for him. So, we usually fast to get closer to God knowing that God is accepting our fasting and that God will reward us,” she says.
She’s lived through a lot of tough Ramadans, including one during the Iraq invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War, but this one is different.
Tarifi was born in Gaza and raised there until she was 4 years old, before her family moved to Kuwait. She moved to the Los Angeles area more than 30 years ago.
The First Night of Fasts at the Al-Aqsa Mosque During the December 7 Attack: Palestinians and the State of the Rock
The Palestinians were denied entry to the Israeli police on Sunday for the first night of prayers. Police charged at the crowd at one gate, hitting people with batons.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would allow access to Al-Aqsa as it had in previous years – when nearly everyone was allowed – at least for the first week. Each following week during the month-long holiday would be assessed afterward, Netanyahu’s office said, overruling the far-right minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who advocated for a near blanket ban, including on Muslims with Israeli citizenship.
The site of the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of The Rock is holy to both Muslim and Jewish people, which is why Muslims refer to it as Al Haram Al Sharif.
Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli attorney and expert on Jerusalem, said the role of Israeli police has changed from what it was 10 years ago, when they were largely seen as a moderating influence.
“The police were something of a referee between all sides, and their goal was to maintain order. They’re in league with the Temple Mount movement. “On a daily basis Israel violates the status quo by any interpretation.”
Rushdiyyah, a teenager who lives in Jerusalem, told NPR that she had never seen a mosque empty before Friday prayers.
“This is what is left for the Palestinian as a kind of identity,” said Zakariya Al Qaq, a Palestinian national security expert. “And this is very important. They feel that it is under threat. And if they lose it or something happens to Al-Aqsa mosque, then everything is lost.”
Hamas often invokes Al-Aqsa in order to galvanize support or incite an uprising. The group named the Oct. 7 attack, in which 1200 people were killed and dozens taken hostage, “Al-Aqsa flood” citing threats to the mosque as the reason.
The breaking of the fast is one of the activities that takes place at the compound. Over 200,000 worshippers can be drawn to Fridays and other holy days.
Many Palestinians think the war in Gaza has overshadowed the celebrations of the holy month. Normally, the area is adorned with lights and lanterns, but not this year.
With more than 31,000 Palestinians killed in the war in Gaza, experts warn that the tension over the mosque could cause a bigger conflict that would affect the whole region.
The 10th Oscar Night in Mexico City: When the Matadors Stop Fighting, and Why Do We Want to Be Like These Guys? The Case of Tenorio
Matadors are back in Mexico City, after Mexico’s Supreme Court overturned a 2022 ban on bullfighting in the capital. The tradition faces declining popularity, and in some countries there are bans on it. A growing number of female bullfighters enter the arena and demand to be treated equally, in part, as it is entering the modern era. One of them is Tenorio. Read the story and give it a listen.
“Round-up” campaigns have become ubiquitous at grocery chains, gas stations and stores in recent years, and raked in millions of dollars annually for everything from scholarships to cancer research. Donations at check-out nearly doubled between 2012 and 2022, when charities raised $749 million nationwide through so-called point-of-sale fundraising campaigns. Marketing and management experts have several theories why — and it’s not just because of consumer generosity.
Oppenheimer won big on Sunday night, taking home seven awards including best picture. The academy liked the look of Poor Things, which won in the makeup/hair styling, costumes and production design categories. Emma Stone won her second Oscar and Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey, Jr. were the other people who won Oscars. John Cena presented an award naked (sort of), and Ryan Gosling brought the house down with his amazing Kenergy. All in all, it was a satisfying Oscar night, even if there weren’t many big surprises. As it turns out, you can like Oppenheimer and you can like Barbie, and you can like some other movies too — even as an Oscar voter.
Source: Ramadan begins without a cease-fire; ‘Oppenheimer’ sweeps the Oscars
The Up First Radio Show – A Report on Port-au-Prince Prison Inmates’ Interaction with the Prime Minister in the Context of the Outburst in Haiti
There has been violence in Port-au-Prince since thousands of prison inmates were released earlier this month. They struck when de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry was out of the country, and he is now blocked from entering both Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic.
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