Dutch Islamic Web Sites Boom in Ramadan

By Nasreddine Djebbi, IOL Correspondent

THE HAGUE, October 4, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – With the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the Netherlands, Muslim Web sites are attracting a large number of Muslims curious to know how to make their fast flawless and non-Muslims as well who want to learn more about the Muslim faith.

Is my fast valid if I do not pray? Is it a must to fast if I am sick? Do sex and smoking invalidate fast? are some of a plethora of questions that pour into Muslim Web sites' Ask the Scholar or Fatwa sections.

"We are reaching out to Muslims interested in learning more about their religion especially during Ramadan," Sheikh Galal Amer, the managing director of the Web site of the Imams Assembly in the Netherlands, told IslamOnline.net Tuesday, October 4.

He said the Web site also serves as a teaching tool for the third generation as they find information both in their native Dutch and Arabic, the language of the Noble Qur'an.

"The Web site also provides Dutch Muslims with a much-needed directory of mosques in the Netherlands and a list of their activities during the holy month," Amer added.

To spare the Muslim minority the usual disagreement on the beginning of Ramadan, five Dutch Muslim organizations have agreed to start fasting Wednesday, October 5, according to astronomical calculations.

There are one million Muslims in the Netherlands, mostly hailing from Turkish and Moroccan origin.

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Ramadan Festivalis considered to be the most visited Muslim Web site in the Netherlands.

The Dutch-Arabic Web site is supervised by a number of Muslim organizations in cooperation with Amsterdam municipality.

The founders, according to information posted on their Web site, were motivated by the fact that most non-Muslims in the European country knew little about Ramadan and Islam in general.

The Web site receives a torrent of questions almost on a daily basis from non-Muslims like can Muslims drink and smoke during fasting hours? Can Muslims fast some of the specific time?

It further undertook a poll that showed that 78 percent of Muslims in the Netherlands observe Ramadan while 22 percent do not fast.

Mosques and Islamic centers across the country have also set up a special Ramadan page on their Web sites and launched a series of live dialogues that host prominent scholars to answer questions on the dawn-to-dusk fasting month.

The country's Muslim channel NMO will also air the Tarawih Prayer prayers daily and cover Muslim activities and forums after iftar (a meal that breaks the fast).