A WINDOW ON THE ARAB WORLD (4)

It was the same, during Ramadhan, the holy month devoted to fasting. It started as soon as a group of religious teachers,known as ‘the Moonsighting Committee’ confirmed the sighting of the new moon.They took a plane and flew above the clouds , to do this ,and their decision was final. Many mountain villages in remote parts of Oman started fasting early – afraid that they would miss the start of Ramadhan. In the newspaper,there was an advice column written by a mullah , to help devotees to fast correctly.One man confessed to having inadvertently swallowed some saliva, and asked if this could be counted as an act of consumption.The mullah said yes,it was ,and to atone for this transgression , the man was solemnly instructed to do two extra days’ fasting.

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