North polar line: Muslims in Swedish town keep 21-hour fast
Both sehrs and iftars are made in light of the day in the city where sun does not set during summer.
A view of a Swedish town on the north polar line. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Muslims in Lulea, a Swedish town on north polar line, keep fast of more than 21 hours a day which is one of longest daily period of fasting in Ramazan. Both sehrs and iftars are made in light of the day in the city where sun does not set during summer, Anadolu News Agency reported.
Lulea is a city on the coast of northern Sweden with 75,000 inhabitants. There are many Muslims in the city from Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Tunisia. According to Ramazan timetable of Turkish Religious Affairs Administration, iftar starts at 11.50pm local time while Taraweeh is offered at 12.28 am and sehr ends at 2.37am. There are hardly three hours between iftar and sehr. So the Muslims are in such a rush that they have to get ready in 38 minutes for Taraweeh after breaking fast.
Fatma Bora and Tulay Imdat, living in Lulea for ten years, said it was not hard to observe fasting due to the cool weather in spite of long hours. “We bear down on praying on time because of the short time period between iftar and Taraweeh,” said Bora and Imdat, stating that they felt blessed for performing their religious duty.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2013.
Muslims in Lulea, a Swedish town on north polar line, keep fast of more than 21 hours a day which is one of longest daily period of fasting in Ramazan. Both sehrs and iftars are made in light of the day in the city where sun does not set during summer, Anadolu News Agency reported.
Lulea is a city on the coast of northern Sweden with 75,000 inhabitants. There are many Muslims in the city from Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Tunisia. According to Ramazan timetable of Turkish Religious Affairs Administration, iftar starts at 11.50pm local time while Taraweeh is offered at 12.28 am and sehr ends at 2.37am. There are hardly three hours between iftar and sehr. So the Muslims are in such a rush that they have to get ready in 38 minutes for Taraweeh after breaking fast.
Fatma Bora and Tulay Imdat, living in Lulea for ten years, said it was not hard to observe fasting due to the cool weather in spite of long hours. “We bear down on praying on time because of the short time period between iftar and Taraweeh,” said Bora and Imdat, stating that they felt blessed for performing their religious duty.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2013.