Vatican Message for the End of Ramadan
Posted On September 13, 2009
People of many faiths and religious backgrounds joined Muslims on September 3 at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC for a prayer service and Ramadan dinner to celebrate interfaith service projects. Watch scenes from the service and listen to Sayyid Syeed, national director for the Islamic Society of North America; Siba Subramaniam, vice president of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington; and Meg Poole, chair of Washington’s annual 9/11 Unity Walk talk about the importance of interfaith relations in a post- 9/11 world.
“We all know that poverty has the power to humiliate and to engender intolerable sufferings; it is often a source of isolation, anger, even hatred and the desire for revenge.
“It can provoke hostile actions using any available means, even seeking to justify them on religious grounds…in the name of an alleged divine justice,” said the message.
“On the occasion of your feast which concludes the month of Ramadan, I would like to extend my best wishes for peace and joy to you and, through this message, propose this theme for our reflection: Christians and Muslims: Together in overcoming poverty.”
According to the message by the Holy See, confronting poverty and extremism go hand in hand.
“This is why confronting the phenomena of extremism and violence necessarily implies tackling poverty through the promotion of integral human development that Pope Paul VI defined as the “new name for peace,” said the letter.
Tauran and Celata concluded the message by wishing a “Happy Eid al-Fitr!” to Muslims, referring to the three-day holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, one of Islam’s five pillars.
The end of Ramadan this year will take place on the night of 19-20 September.
