Mourning and worry cast pall over Ramadan this year for many Muslim Canadians

Ramadan is usually a joyful time at Reem Sultan's home, but not this year. The London, Ont., resident, one of hundreds of thousands of Canadians preparing to mark the most sacred month in the Muslim calendar

Ramadan is usually a joyful time at Reem Sultan's home, but not this year.

The London, Ont., resident, one of hundreds of thousands of Canadians preparing to mark the most sacred month in the Muslim calendar when it officially begins at sundown on Sunday, said the humanitarian crisis and violence unfolding in Gaza over the past five months weighs heavily on those marking the occasion an ocean away.

Sultan said this year's month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayer and family gatherings will look very different at her home as she and her relatives grapple with the ongoing fallout of the Israel-Hamas war.

“This is not festive and we can't be happy. We can't be joyful when we are watching our relatives and brothers and sisters in faith being murdered day in and day out,” she said in an interview Sunday.

Sultan said she and her community are reckoning with grief, anger and profound sadness as the death toll in Gaza continues to climb. She has lost loved ones to the violence and said she remains consumed by fear for the safety of her relatives and friends.

The decorations and bright lights Sultan normally puts up around her home will stay down this year, she said, and her family won’t be breaking their fast with the typical desserts and treats she usually makes.

"We’ve had a discussion as a family that this year we won’t have the normal celebration, or celebratory items or foods that we normally have," she said.