Ramadan

Temple Mount Closed To Jews On Tisha B'Av; Stones Thrown At U.S. Teens Near Old City

07/29/2012

JTA and Staff Report

Reports that Jewish extremists would create "provocations" spurred Jerusalem police to close the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors on Tisha b'Av.

Muslim leaders threatened to riot in return, leading to the closure on Sunday, according to reports. The calls for the provocations appeared on several websites, Ynet reported.

Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan, and Muslim worshipers reportedly were allowed on the Temple Mount on Sunday.

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Amb. Oren Attends White House Ramadan Dinner

08/12/2011

JTA

Israeli ambassador Michael Oren attended the annual White House dinner celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Wednesday dinner was an "iftar," when observant Muslims break their daylight fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Along with Oren envoys from some 35 nations with significant Muslim populations were present, as well as members of the American Muslim community.

In a note on Facebook, Oren noted that three years ago he was the first Israeli ambassador to attend the White House dinner and was "deeply honored."

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Israel Frees Hamas Founder Early In Honor of Ramadan

Submitted by Adam Dickter on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 13:42

Israel released from prison one of the founders of Hamas, who had been imprisoned for five years for terrorist activities.

Sheik Hassan Yousef, one of Hamas' most prominent figures in the West Bank, was released Thursday along with 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture in honor Ramadan, said the Israel Prison Service.

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Syria Starts Ramadan With A Bang

Submitted by Douglas Bloomfield on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 16:00

Bashar Assad ushered in Ramadan this weekend by killing at least 136 unarmed civilian demonstrators, including nearly 100 in the city of Hama, the place where nearly 30 years earlier his father massacred tens of thousands of his fellow Syrians. Tanks and machine-gunners also targeted mosque minarets in the Sunni-majority city; Assad and his ruling circle are Alouite Shi'ites.

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Clinton cites Newport letter in speech to Muslims

09/08/2010

Ron Kampeas

JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- In an address to Muslims, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cited George Washington's letter to the Jews in making the case for American tolerance.

Clinton spoke at her department's annual Ramadan break-the-fast celebration for diplomats and American Muslim leaders.

She praised rabbis and other clerics for speaking out against a Florida church's plan to burn the Koran.

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