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MORE THAN A billion Muslims around the world marked the start of Ramadan today, embarking on a month of fasting and prayer to commemorate the divine revelations received by Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.
But what happens during the holy month? Who is required to fast? And what happens at the end of each day?
Here’s a quick guide…
Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month in the Islamic calendar, marked by Muslims as a month of piety, charity and thriftiness.
Observing the Ramadan fast is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, alongside the profession of faith, the five daily prayers, the giving of alms and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
During the 29 or 30 days of Ramadan, observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex between sunrise and sunset.
The fast is seen as a spiritual struggle against the temptations of earthly pleasures.
It is also a chance to renew family and social bonds. Families gather at sundown for iftar, the breaking of the fast, while many mosques serve free communal meals to the poor.
After the fast, many Muslims gather at mosques for special Ramadan prayers known as tarawih.
The spiritual climax of the month is Laylat Al-Qadr (the night of power), which commemorates the moment the angel Gabriel first appeared to Mohammed and began revealing the Koran.
The final day of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr (the festival of fast-breaking), is a major family event marked by feasting and celebration.
The fast is considered obligatory for all Muslims over the age of puberty. Although children are exempt, parents are encouraged to gradually get them used to it.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women, the sick and travellers are allowed to delay their fast, but must resume it as soon as they have the chance.
Ramadan will be particularly hard this year for many Muslims in the northern hemisphere, coming in summer with its long days and hot temperatures across much of the Muslim world.
Ramadan is the ninth month of Islam’s hijri calendar, a lunar system that sets the dates for Islamic religious festivals.
The hijri calender has 11 days fewer than the solar Gregorian calendar, meaning that the start of Ramadan shifts back every year.
The beginning of the fast is announced when the first quarter of the new moon is visible with the naked eye. Religious scholars meet every year to determine the exact date, which can vary from country to country.
- © AFP, 2016 with reporting from Daragh Brophy.
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What’s the problem with naming the hotel
If they wrote the letter name the hotel
That the hotel and other hotels will
simply refuse DCC’s requests to accommodate homeless people or will insist on charging them the standard rack rate if it is shown as likely to generate bad PR.
I have no doubt the hotel is getting a good price for the rooms,hotels are not in the habit of doing Dublin City Council favours, Name and Shame the Hotel.
Hotels can refuse on many grounds that aren’t discriminatory as they are normal policies which apply to all guests.
Most won’t accept an open ended reservation, limit stays to a maximum 30 days, require a credit card in the registered guest’s name…
They are doing them a favor by accommodating homeless people period. As the journal published yesterday. Hotel rates and prices in the capital are at an all time high. They aren’t exactly crying out for the business.
If the room is paid for and the Guest does not have a history of damaging rooms, Then the the hotel has NO right of refusal. Name the F*****s and shame them.
It’s easy to bad mouth hotel but there has to be rules and regulations for the safety of everyone involved and to protect the hotel property. Even regular hotel customers have to abide by certain rules.Imagine if council comes with an monetary arrangements, how many of us will be ready to house them in our own homes?
When was the last time You stayed in a hotel that told You park somewhere else and use the back door?
We all agree that rules must apply, But the same rules should apply to all, Not extra rules because you are down on your luck.
@Brian you are right but it looks like that these rules are made by council so as to avoid damages or confrontation of any sort where council has to pay on the behalf of the homeless people e.g suppose one’s car is scratched or damaged in parking lot inadvertently, who will be responsible?
@Rogue Who is responsible in the normal course of things? The mistake being made here is that Long term Homeless with drink and alcohol problems are being housed in Hotels, That may be the case in some places, But the majority of families being forced to stay in hotels ware in rented accommodation until very recently, But the limits on rent allowance has forced them onto the streets. The obvious solution is to increase rent allowance in proportion with rising rent. I happen to know one Young family living in a hotel for the last year, I’ll bet the hotel bill is higher than the rent increase they needed in the first place.
Playing the blame game in this is pointless. It a symptom of a far greater problem.
I know (not personally) a few people who have practically lived in hotels in Dublin. They were actors, screen writes and the like.
If I go to any capital city in Europe and pay top rates to stay there I do not expect families on welfare running around the hotel without any controls.
This is Emergancy accommodation that the hotel are providing because our government and councils have not done the job they are paid to do.
@Chris Mcdonnell. Why on earth would You think that because someone is going trough a tough time , Their kids would be running around without control?
I have stayed in hotels all around the world, And By far the most misbehaved children ware the children of the well off and privileged.
I wish I could contact Catherine who wrote this article. I sent emails but they are not going through. I have a both heartbreaking and hair raising story to tell re: tus nua a DePaul charity in Finglas.
Well, that’ll help the self-esteem of people who are down on their luck…nothing like being made to feel worthless and ashamed to help give you the spirit to lift yourself out of a bad spot. That has made me sick.
It’s pretty messed up alright, no doubt about that
‘It is understood that the rules were drawn up on behalf of Dublin City Council’. So, is the issue with the Council or with a specific hotel? If it’s a Council ruling does it not apply to all designated hotels providing accommodation on behalf of the Council? Either way, it’s draconian.
Just because someone is unfortunate enough to be homeless doesn’t mean they should be officially treated like second class citizens. The curfew aspect is despicable
When some of these families return to their home country they won’t have a good word to say about Ireland and the cruel welfare system we operate.
The land of 1000 welcomes me ar$e.
@ wiklagirl…..” rules drawn up on behalf of DCC” , well , when there is anti-social bahaviour in DCC estates how come the rules arent so quickly enforced!
Isn’t that the most fantastic part of it. When they leave they won’t be encouraging more leeches to come. Excellent.
It’s undoubtedly harsh, but, I suppose, beggars cannot be choosers.
The girl on Liveline today was from Finglas Not Kinshasa, What do You mean by ” Home Country” ?
most families in hotel are irish fool, this is happening to irish families not that it should make a difference we prove time and time again that kids and single mothers dont count in this country, have them{family} come in through the side entrance dont let any1 see and through them into a room and trough away the key.Unfortunatly more and more irish people just dont care and i blame all of it on fine gael – they have push this country and the peoples syky to a horrible unfreindly place.
What a horrible , old fashioned , and mean thing to say – well done you !
As I said earlier in the week, I actually saw local families who had been forced into that situation in a Dublin hotel on Tuesday morning. Shocking that it’s been allowed to happen.give these people their dignity. I can understand no grills or drying clothes in the rooms, but use the back door. The government needs to hang its head in shame. But at least it deflects from iw.
explain” Leeches”
how many of you would pick the hotel or hostel in the city you are travelling to if it mentioned on the site or tripadvisor that it was also a homeless hostel?
Is that not the point, Force the hote to treat all residents equal? Name this Hotel today and sure as F**k any hotel with similar policies will stop tomorrow.
Discovering the hotel I chose was being used as a facility for people without a house would not stop me from staying there. Hearing they implemented these draconian rules would.
Brian, I am not saying I agree or disagree with either side here (as I think that its pointless; there’s a much larger issue here), but this is someone’s livelihood also. Would you compromise your business by not introducing rules that have had to have been borne form some previous experience??? I think you should calm down a tad on the hotel bashing. No fire without smoke. Sadly smoke can tarnish everyone’s clothing…
@Oisin, Firstly, I’m a very clam individual.
I’m not “Hotel” Bashing, I’m having a go at “individual” hotels who would issue this disgraceful list. Unlike them who are targeting “everyone”.
They are compromising their own business by treating some paying guests differantly than other paying guests. Let me ask You,If You went into any hotel and ware told You get a better room and treatment if you own your own home, Would you stay thare? I wouldn’t.
Maybe the hotel do not want the guests who are actually paying rip off amounts off money to be disturbed? If this is the case then it should be used solely for people who are unfortunate enough to be in this situation. After all, it’s fair exchange to me it seems. Rules seem reasonable to me….no smoking or cooking in rooms and no visitors after eleven at night. I mean seriously who has visitors at that time? And no children under 18 allowed be on their own? That’s allowable too
Yeah because the council got discount rates, the homeless should be treated differently than their fellow human.How very reasonable of them.
I don’t believe the council got discount rates.
Have to agree with Mary all Bar the car park (not sure why when rooms are paid for) seem fairly reasonable the resonance for grills or toasters is due to fire safety & drying clothes not room causes damn smells. Rules don’t seem harsh to me after all its a hotel not a block of flats to be fair. The rules apply to all guests.
Not sure why they have to use a different entrance either that and car park are only ones I would have an issue with tbh rest are in line with regular rules.
Not using the main door could be as simple as one or more hotels had to highlight to DCC that some long term residents were traipsing out for a smoke every 30 minutes as they are bored off their chops. As a hotel where it’s front door is an important representation of the establishment will take issue with the same people who for all we know have been chain smoking in their fluffy pj’s every day when guests are arriving. Just like anywhere, guests there for the weekend are giving privileges where someone living there for months must have more rules imposed.
Why can they not just build concentration camps for these people and be done with it. Talk about humiliation.
I’m sure those in concentration camps would have picked a free hotel room with a few conditions of stay over certain death.
Ireland has become a disgusting country and the present government does not give a damn (they are only interested to get re-elected) the fat cats have gotten fatter thanks to FG forget about LAB as the moaner Joan has committed political suicide with Jobstown . The vast majority of the present government are completely out of touch with reality, they have jumped onto the gravy train and live in another world. But they will get a deserved wallop in the next election. The Government has abused and lied to the electorate but the electorate have woken up.
Why dont you leave Ireland if its disgusting. You do know where Dublin Airport is.
I am an Irish citizen but I don’t live in Ireland, I got my ass out there a longtime ago.
“Why don’t you leave ireland”
FFS – such childishness
Another Blue Shirt?
I really doubt Fine Gael will be getting much of a wallop in the next election. People knew what they were getting when they voted for them.
I think the shocker was that Labour didn’t do much to soften the blows. They are finished in government for a long time to come for sure.
Just someone very deluded and has no empathy for Irish citizens I’d guess Paul.
“such childishness” so you go and visit the Phoenix park tonight, Mount joy Square and anywhere else on Dublin streets and count the number of children sleeping rough and then come back to me and speak about “childishness”
This was directed at Mr. Canning.
Everyone is entitled to their option and free speech .
Stephen I think you’re wrong there alot of FG supporter’s at the last election are leaving in their droves.24% at last poll quite down from the lofty heights of 36%.
@Paul – my comment SPECIFICALLY refers to your suggestion, as quoted in the comment.
And I stand by it – so please, next time you want to be childish, please don’t confirm it by trying to deflect from your original stupid and irrelevant comment.
@Norman – As we all know polls in this day and age are rather meaningless and change constantly. Look at the recent UK general election for that. The exit polls were the only ones that were accurate.
You may be right that support for FG is down overall but for people like me who never voted for them, I am left asking myself who to vote for now?
I voted for Labour last time but my politics have changed since then so they won’t be getting it. SF and the Anti People Socialist Austerity Alliance or whatever they are called will never get a look at from my vote. Fianna Fail don’t deserve my vote with their weak leadership and popular politics. Independents never achieve anything. So I’m left in a situation where I may as well let Fine Gael finish the job they started, after all they have achieved some positive things, even though I don’t particularly like them.
Obviously this is as things stand now. Lots can change in the coming months.
Stephen FG are following the plan as put in place by the late Brian Lenihen so those FF that loaned their vote to FG will return to FF as there is no difference between the 2.Independents will decide the outcome of the next GE unless FF go in with FG.
Sorry son, but you would have to be a complete idiot to vote for FG.
@Norman – I just don’t see independents as contenders for anything, they are too fractured and even more so than other politicians, they take on popular issues mostly.
@ Arnie – Give me an alternative and a reason to vote for them, lad. I;ll consider all options.
Yes, vote for the party that destroyed the country financially.
So homeless people are to be treated differently to other citizens of the state .Worked well in America and South Africa.
Treating them a sub human. Those rules are a disgrace how dare they.
Well done Labour you must be proud of yourselves. Looking forward to iPhone Joan testifying about her “imprisonment” shortly before the next election. Sure to garner votes that story.
Yes Kerry Blake, her imprisoned in her car, paid for by us, the taxpayer, for a couple of hours and now look at these poor families, imprisoned in one room and God only knows for how long!! This government are so stuck up their own asses it makes my blood boil!!!
Unreal, well this is what you get when you elect teachers etc to run your country the lack of a statesman is evident. And as for the idiots that think this will never happen to them or their extended families good luck to them.
Very little being done to solve the homeless crisis, yet a Minister can spare the time to discuss spending up to 100,000 euro to put an asylum seeker through university.
**Carol Oates
Very little being done to solve the homeless crisis, yet a Minister can spare the time to discuss spending up to 100,000 euro to put an asylum seeker through university.**
Ironically, that asylum seeker probably speaks much better Irish than a waste of space like you Carol.
I wish we could ship out the bigots like you.
Bless your ignorance. I can tell you I know many people from overseas who have better English than I have. One of my good friends is Russian and has corrected me on more than one occasion. So your slur is wasted on me. It’s not a competition on who is smarter or who paid more attention in English class. It is a question of funds and social responsibility of the people who are supposed to be in government. Do you honestly believe we should even be considering paying university fees for one particular student to that extent when there are kids sleeping in cars and sleeping bags in Dublin parks? Not to mention the legal precedent it would set for other students from overseas at the cost of homeless, health, and other services in Ireland. If you do, there is no reasoning with you.
carol,very well said
If they don’t like the rules, they should do what the rest of us do, get a job and pay the market rate for a house. They can do as they wish then.
Many of these families aren’t allowed to work because they are from overseas. It isn’t their fault that they can’t work. It’s the system.
Why are they here if they can’t work?
Ah, the halfwit racists and bigots crawl out of the woodwork…
A lot of gullible idiots like yourself with their head up their holes also come out of the woodwork proclaiming anybody who has the audacity to question multiculturalism is a racist.
Harsh
…and probably illegal. It’s a hotel, not a work house.
If that’s how they treat their guest, someone would want to check on how they treat their staff.
Their a lot more rules you have to adhere to when you ” bust your gut working”to get a mortgage… and a lot more hardship.
A lot more hardship than sleeping on the streets? Get real!
House of Cards – it will get worse – can see these Hotels declining acceptance as the numbers grow.
What a mess the Government has created.
Why can’t we actually read the attached docs on Android phones? Very annoying Journal.
I can on my Android phone.
Good for you. I, and many others, can’t as it’s too blurry.
No fear of our Minister for Social Protection having to use the tradesman’s entrance her being a champagne socialist.
I can read it fine. Have you tried cleaning your glasses?
Áine, no need to be rude about it. Your post spoke for all Android phone users. I am merely pointing out that this doesn’t include me. This may then be an issue with your phone or software, rather than being TheJournal.ie’s fault as you seem to be suggesting.
Yeah. It’s fine on both my Androids too.
it’s perfect on my android.
Áine has a cheap phone, poor girl.
Open up Farmleagh for these people that would help.
As joe Duffy said today prisoners are treated better..
Prisoners are not treated better. What does rich Joe Duffy know about prison?
His first job was a probation officer.
it’s amazing how other hotel residents object to having what they call ” these” people in the hotel. the whole system is wrong but there are people I know staying in hotels and guesthouses who go to their relatives for the day but have to keep staying or otherwise they are not seen to be homeless and therefore not eligible to be rehomed
By relatives, do you mean the house where the father of the children lives?
Well OTV you should report them if you have any proof….
It is an outrage that families travel all the way to Ireland for a better life, and when they get here, this is how they are treated.
Hopefully the government invests the 18 million that is due and we can then welcome of flood of needy families from across europe and beyond. Once word gets out that Irish eyes are smiling and we have an apartment for them if they need it.
I really hope you are taking the piss.
Oh cool, there are no irish homeless people. Excellent. Glad you cleared that up.
Not good for Alan Kelly the silence has been deafening since the start of the week.
Why destroy people dignity..Name the hotel and cancel all bookings and seek alternatives..This hotel gets paid in full therefore all customers should be treated equally..
They are being paid for these families as guests and they should be treated as guests. What do they think they are going to do? I am so angry at this insult to people. Bad enough that you have to live in an hotel with your children but to be treated as a second class citizen as well, is true humiliation.
Yes. Bang on Siobhan.
Maybe the authoritarians might like if these folk would wear some identifying mark in case one of them slips through the front door. If only they had a distinguishing feature to make them stand out.
For those of you wondering what hotel it is, Google hotel gastro bar Dublin.
You mean to tell me that there allowed to use irish water for free. there really giving these folks the full cead mile failte.
I’ll make sure each of my four kids leave this joke of a country as soon as they’ve finished school and give themselves a decent quality of life away from this f***in embarrassment of a kip
Oh jay, not a very positive attitude. You’re putting me off having kids, All
Together!
Yes this is indeed the Dracula hotel in malahide!!! I reckon the inmates in our prisons are being treated better. I heard about their antics from a friend who was unfortunate enough to end up living there. Her husband passed away last year and the greedy landlord decided he wanted her out so he could increase the rent. So she is currently residing there. Horrendous situation to be in.
since January the woman hasn’t been able to find alternative accommodation for her family within her budget or choosing not to ?
Not being able to use the front door. Says it all.
“Allowing visitors to enter the hotel.
Leaving children under the age of 18 unaccompanied on the premises.
Smoking and drinking on site.”
I have worked in dcc emergency housing and those rules are there for very good reason. Not all residents would allow it but often unsupervised 3-9 year olds running all over a building with loom bands, biscuits, sausages, ketchup, bread, slices of cheese, football’s, not to mention no shoes and other health and safety issues. Kids should be supervised, visitors aren’t allowed for safety of all residents, smoking/drinking happened where I worked – a family was cancelled once for repeatedly smoking in common Hall and putting out cigs in carpet. It is not easy to cancel an apartment.
I am in no way defending the current situation, for one where I worked the residents had fully equipped apartments with dishwasher, cooking facilities etc etc and it’s outrageous to expect families to go without a way to cook or do laundry. Even at that, the accommodation is supposed to be temporary and many families I knew were stuck unable to have visitors/signing in at 11pm for over a year. There are so many more important things this article could address than necessary rules for families safety.
People need an incentive to work, there needs to be a time limit on how long we are allowed claim rent allowance and welfare. Otherwise our taxes are claimed as someone else’s right. In other countries these families would not be helped, using a back door in exchange for emergency accommodation?!? Come on it could be far worse!!
Is this hotel in malahide??
All that money spent on Irish water could have gone into helping families secure homes and not have to live like this.
Everytime one sees Health & Safety quoted as a reason one should seek evidence. I wonder how many guests have been injured when frequenting other guests rooms. My guess is no more than have come to harm while languishing alone.
have your say