Syrians begin fasting during first Ramadan without Assad family rule in decades

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Some restaurants and coffee shops in Syria were closed during the day Saturday while others opened as usual as observant Muslims began fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, the first since the fall of Assad family rule in the war-torn country.

Syria’s interim Ministry of Religious Endowments reportedly called for all restaurants, coffee shops and street food stands be closed during the day and that people must not eat or drink in public or face punishment. Those who violate the rule could get up to three months in jail. However, it did not appear that any official order had been issued by the government to that effect.

Associated Press journalists who toured Damascus on Saturday said some coffee shops were opened but had their windows closed to that people can’t see who is inside.

Insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, overthrew President Bashar Assad’s secular government in early December ending the 54-year Assad family dynasty. Since then, Syria’s new Islamist government under former insurgent leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, has been in control and many fear that the country could turn into an Islamic state, although al-Sharaa has so far promised to respect religious minorities.

Under Assad’s rule during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset, people were allowed to eat in public. This year, many people are abstaining from eating in public fearing reprisals.

“Ramadan this year comes with a new flavor. This is the Ramadan of victory and liberation,” said interim Minister of Religious Affairs Hussam Haj-Hussein in a televised statement.

Most countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Kuwait began observing Ramadan on Saturday, while a few other countries such as Malyasia and Japan, as well as some Shiite Muslims, will begin the fast on Sunday.

In many parts of the region, the holy month this year is bittersweet. Lebanese this year mark Ramadan after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect in late November.

In the Gaza Strip, a fragile ceasefire deal, which has paused over 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, nears the end of its first phase, and many Palestinians ate their first iftar in the middle of the rubble where their houses used to be.

“This year, after the fall of the regime, there are many confirmations regarding the prohibition of publicly breaking the fast, with violators facing imprisonment,” said Damascus resident Munir Abdallah. “This is something new, good and respectable, meaning that the rituals of Ramadan should be fully observed in all their aspects.”

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar; the month cycles through the seasons. The start of the month traditionally depends on the sighting of the crescent moon.

The actual start date may vary among Muslim communities due to declarations by multiple Islamic authorities around the globe on whether the crescent has been sighted or different methodologies used to determine the start of the month.

The fast breaking meal is known as iftar and usually family members and friends gather at sunset to have the main meal. Muslims eat a pre-dawn meal, called “suhoor,” to hydrate and nurture their bodies ahead of the daily fast.

The holy month is also a time when Islamic and charitable organizations frequently provide meals for those unable to afford their own.

In the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Bashar al Mashhadani, imam of the Sheikh Abdulqadir al Gailani Mosque in Baghdad said the mosque was preparing to serve 1,000 free meals per day to people coming to break their fast.

Ramadan is followed by the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, one of Islam’s most important feasts.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.