"Brothers & sisters"

Vatican sends a greeting to Muslims for Ramadan

Muslims around the world started the fasting month of Ramadan.(Bild: AP/Amr Nabil)

The Vatican has once again sent a message to Muslims around the world for the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. In the greeting, the Vatican reminds Muslims of the similarities between the Christian fasting period and Ramadan. The times of fasting are also times of prayer and charity. 

They offer a "special opportunity for inner renewal and to strengthen solidarity with those in need". As "authentic brothers and sisters", Christians and Muslims are called upon to bear witness together to God's friendship with all of humanity. Shared values such as justice, compassion and respect for creation should serve as a compass.

The Vatican message continues: "For you, dear Muslims, hope is nourished by trust in the divine mercy that forgives and guides. For us Christians, it is based on the certainty that God's love is stronger than all temptations and obstacles."

Vatican: beauty of "diversity"
The faithful of both religions are called upon to reject all forms of violence, discrimination and exclusion. "Our faith and its values should help us to speak out against injustice and indifference and to proclaim the beauty of human diversity."

Meanwhile, contrary to fears, the first Friday prayer in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan passed off without incident in Jerusalem. According to estimates by the Muslim Waqf authority, around 90,000 worshippers took part in the prayer on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City. According to Israel's police, a large number of officers are deployed in Jerusalem during Ramadan.

The Temple Mount is an important holy site for Jews, Muslims and Christians. Until its destruction by the Romans in the year 70, this was the site of the Jewish Temple, the central sanctuary of Israel and the focal point of its religious life. In Islam, the Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site. In the past, visits to the Temple Mount by nationalist Israelis and Jewish demands for prayer rights on the Temple Mount have repeatedly sparked protests by Palestinians, some of them violent.