Christians in Palestine have been participating in Ramadan initiatives to commemorate the Muslim fasting month.
Aid initiatives, street and market decorations, and the distribution of water and dates before iftar are just a few of the things they’ve done in Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Nablus in the West Bank.
Khalil Kawa, a 41-year-old Christian, has been giving out dates and water to passers-by at a traffic junction in Nablus, a city where Muslims, Christians, and Samaritans coexist.
“I don’t feel like I’m doing anything unusual being a Christian and giving out dates and water to folks who are fasting,” he remarked. I don’t want to categorize them as Muslims, Christians, or Samaritans. All of us are Palestinians.
“In 2013, a group of my friends and I formed the Nablus Tour, a youth organization.” We’re a groupof photographers. We photograph the city of Nablus, give sweets on Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, and decorate the city in the run-up to the blessed month of Ramadan, as well as during Eid. We also give dates and water to those who are still fasting”.
“It’s a very wonderful sensation that I can’t describe,” he added, “particularly because people are waiting for us and asking if we’re ready or need anything before Ramadan.”
Kawa noted that the project was first supported by him and his colleagues, but as the group grew in popularity, it frequently found itself with ample finances and supplies owing to contributions.
A group of young people in Ramallah launched a Ramadan awareness campaign called “Forgive and Shake Hands in the Month of Love,” with the goal of spreading positive messages throughout the community.
Members of the Salesian scouts and guides group have been distributing yoghurt, water, and dates in Bethlehem, a primarily Christian city in the south of the West Bank.
“The citizens of Bethlehem, Muslims and Christians, inherit love and coexistence from generation to generation, and the march of love must continue,” said one of the scouts, Fouad Salman.
The 37-year-old stated that he was pleased to be a Palestinian and a Bethlehem resident, and that he had done volunteer work since he was a child, including repairing mosque carpets.
