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Gallery|Arts and Culture

In Pictures: Ramadan where the sun never sets

How do Muslims north of the Arctic Circle participate in Ramadan?

Midnight sun prevails from May 28-July 16 in Kiruna, which covers more than half of the fasting period this year.

By Fredric Alm and Cajsa Wikstrom

Published On 9 Jul 20149 Jul 2014

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In areas north of the Arctic Circle, Muslims observing Ramadan this year are in for a challenge. At the height of summer, the suns stays up around the clock, meaning that those who fast cannot follow the movements of the sun to determine when they are allowed to eat.

Al Jazeera visited Kiruna, in northern Sweden, to see how Muslims there cope. 

Click here to read the full story

Idris Abdulwhab displays the time - 5 minutes before midnight - while the sun remains bright.
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What Hawa Fidel, from Eritrea, misses the most during Ramadan is the special tarawih prayers in a mosque.
Most of the Muslims in Kiruna break their fast following Stockholm(***)s timetable.
Hawa Fidel, Qaabila Iltire and Aliya Hassen cooked for this largely Eritrean Iftar gathering.
The men pray together after dinner.
Qaabila Iltire, from Somalia, is still waiting for permanent residency after almost six years in Sweden.
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Fatima Kaniz and her mother, from Balochistan, break their fast according to Kiruna prayer times.
Puri Gul prays maghreb (the prayer after sunset) in bright sunlight.
Mahmoud Omer Mahmoud, from Eritrea, says the cool weather makes long fasting hours manageable.
Istanbul Minimarket opened last month. Sliman Omar says sweets, juice mixes, and dates are most in demand during Ramadan.
Safwaan al-Taieb, from Syria, performs the call to prayer in the hall used as a mosque.
About 40 people came to pray in the mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan.

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