Muslims across the UAE are ready to celebrate Ramadan amid a pandemic for a second year.
But while Covid-19 muted celebrations in 2020, this holy month brings hope of better times to come.
Iftars may be still be online, gatherings prohibited and marquees banned, but mosques can open and imams are ready to welcome worshippers in a safe and controlled way.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments has immunised 7,500 mosque staff, provided 1.5 million social distancing stickers to places of worship and sent out half a million bottles of sanitiser to keep people safe.
The global fight against Covid-19 has yet to be won, but hope is on the horizon thanks to safety measures and the swift distribution of vaccines.
As the holy month begins, The National spoke to UAE residents who are taking this time to reflect on the past year of their lives.
‘Covid is a wake-up call’
American-Palestinian resident Dalia Sufian, 36, lost both a family member and her job as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but she remains optimistic.
“I am looking forward to Ramadan,” she said. “It is generally a good month and a time to get closer to God. We were deeply affected by the death in our family and it will be difficult to spend Ramadan without him, but we did need this time to heal. I do believe that Covid is a wake-up call for all of us to reflect and get closer to God.”
‘Ramadan will be peaceful and quiet, which is what we need’
Emirati Fadya Omar is still optimistic even after her entire family of about 60 members contracted the coronavirus at a wedding ceremony in Al Ain.
“Ramadan is very spiritual and I really need to recharge,” she said.
“My entire family of 10 houses and around six members in each household got Covid, and I thought that I was safe. But my husband later got it through work.”
Ms Omar, her husband and her children were the only ones who had not attended the party.
“My son had no symptoms but had to quarantine alone in a room for 10 days, which is hard for any child,” she said.
The healthcare worker said the past year had been challenging, because of both Covid-19 and with distance learning.
“I was excited at first but now it is impossible to teach my children online and work. Distance learning was a disaster for me and my children,” she said.
“This year has been really hard with Covid and the workload at the hospital, so I am actually looking forward to Ramadan. It will be peaceful and quiet which is what we all need right now,” she said.
‘It will be such a huge difference’
The mother of a baby born a week before Ramadan last year said her joy will be tempered due to the pandemic disrupting travel plans.
Shahd Mardini, 28, gave birth on April 7 last year and will miss the usual iftars and suhoors at Ramadan tents, which were forbidden around the UAE to help contain the spread of the virus.
“I can’t say I am excited. I love going out and travelling and I have kids who I want to take out,” the Syrian citizen said.
“We usually spend Ramadan abroad, and now with coronavirus and everything being closed it will be difficult.”
She said it was bearable last Ramadan because she had just had a baby.
“It was also the beginning of the pandemic but now we are deep into this and it has been more than a year.
“Personally, I love family gatherings and all the iftars and suhoor, and taraweeh prayers at the mosque. I am really going to miss that this year. It will be such a huge difference,” Ms Mardini said.
The workers who keep the streets clean
The unsung heroes who keep our streets clean have also swung into action for Ramadan.
Tadweer – Abu Dhabi Centre for Waste Management has a 5,085-strong specialist team that includes supervisors, drivers, sweepers and cleaners. Tadweer teams are preparing to unload 161,862 waste containers daily throughout Ramadan using 211 hydraulic compactors.
The teams will work in residential, commercial and industrial areas, and at mosques, government offices, schools, government hospitals and clinics, construction sites of citizen housing projects, roads, streets, pavements and parks.
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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'O'
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
