TORONTO – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Muslims in a special message on Sunday on the arrival of Ramadan, inviting Muslim MPs to an iftar during the first day of the holy month.

“Compassion & service to community. Celebrating Ramadan with a lovely Iftar hosted by @JustinTrudeau. #RamadanKareem,” Maryam Monsef, a member of parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha, posted on Twitter on Monday, June 6.

Ramadan is the holiest month in Islamic calendar.

In Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.

Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to be closer to Allah through prayers, self-restraint and good deeds.

Muslims in North America started fasting on Monday, June 6, on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

Earlier on Sunday, Trudeau issued a statement to welcome the arrival of Ramadan.

“Muslims in Canada and around the world will embark upon a month-long spiritual journey of fasting, prayer, and reflection to commemorate the revealing of the Qu’ran to the Prophet Muhammad,” he said.

“During Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours to increase their patience, closeness to God, and generosity towards those less fortunate. It is a time of community, when Muslims invite neighbors and friends to share their evening meal – iftar – recite prayers together, and encourage each other to give to charity.”

In his Ramadan message, Trudeau stressed US Muslims’ efforts to help the less fortunate all through the year and especially on Ramadan.

“Ramadan reminds all of us to show appreciation for the countless blessings we enjoy and to put the needs of others before our own,” he said.

“Let us take the time to recognize, and show gratitude for, the invaluable contributions of our Muslim communities that enrich our national fabric each and every day. Canada’s cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and sources of pride.

“On behalf of our family, Sophie and I wish all those observing this holy month a blessed and peaceful Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak!”

Muslims make around 1.9 percent of Canada’s some 32.8 million population.

MPs Observe Ramadan

Observing Ramadan, many Muslim MPs reflected on the significance of the holy month.

“The month of Ramadan is a month of reflection, and you reflect through fasting, you reflect on how others that have no food and how they feel, you reflect on people who are homeless who go through poverty, who have to work to no end to make ends meet to put food on the table,” Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi, who was first elected in 2004 and represents Ontario riding Don Valley East, told I-Politics on Monday.

Ratansi added that Muslims pray more during this month and reflect on how to live in harmony with each other.

“It’s a hot month, yes,” Ratansi said of fasting in Ottawa through June.

“But I’ve been to Egypt and I’ve seen people in 40 degrees working without worry about food and drink and I look at it and say ‘Who am I to complain?’”

Ratansi added that Ramadan allows others to understand what Islam is about.

“That it is about peace, generosity, it is about humanity and that people should not be taken in or hoodwinked by events that occur by some fringe elements and so this is a way to get to know each other,” she said.

For Liberal MP Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s first Somali-Canadian who was elected in a by-election in 2015 and represents York South-Weston Ontario, the first day of fasting is the hardest.

He referred that to the fast that the body tries to adjust to no food or water for the daylight hours.

But Hussen doesn’t find it challenging. “I’ve been fasting all my life, since I was a kid, so I’m used to Ramadan,” he said.

“The whole point of Ramadan is to strengthen your ability to keep the fast and to also gain a much, much better understanding and sympathy for those who are needy, homeless, hungry and those who need help,” said Hussen.

“You’re supposed to feel bad at first and that awakens your spirituality and makes you more sympathetic for those who are less fortunate,” he said.

Hussen said many members of Parliament, Muslim and non-Muslim, acknowledged Ramadan in the House of Commons earlier today, and that he felt it was very touching.

He also reflected on the thousands of Syrian refugees who will be experiencing their first Ramadan in Canada.

“My sense would be that for Syrian brothers and sisters in Canada this Ramadan would be a unique one in the sense that it’s the first Ramadan observed away from violence and carnage in Syria,” he said.

Liberal MP Salma Zahid, who was also elected in the fall of 2015 and represents Scarborough Centre, Ontario, anticipates the family gatherings on iftar at the end of the day.

“It’s a time when people come together, families visit each other, people pray,” she said, adding it’s a special month.