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By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 21 July:
The government passed a decree (No.319 – 2012 dated 19 July) by which the official working hours and working week for the government sector are curtailed during the month of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, the working day will start at 9 am and end at 2 pm and Saturday, as well as the normal Friday, is now an official holiday.
This move by the government is partly in recognition of the fact that Ramadan this year falls right in the middle of the hottest days of the Libyan summer, and partly the government giving in to the fact that many government employees would turn up late to work anyway.
The private sector is a law onto themselves in Libya. They have always opened and closed as they chose fit – and this is especially so during the holy month of Ramadan.
During the fasting month of Ramadan Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from sunrise to sunset – which is about 16 hours this year. This presents a great challenge to the human body and mind – and especially so to smokers and avid coffee and tea drinkers.
Productivity tails off drastically during the fasting month of Ramadan in Libya, as in many Muslin nations, as the population tends to stay up all night until the break of fast currently at 4.18 am, and make up for the lost sleep time during the day.
It must be stated that sleeping all day and not carrying on the routine of normal life is not within the spirit of how Ramadan should be practiced. Ramadan is supposed to be a test of patience, endurance and the ability to curtail all the natural desires.
Those under the age of puberty are not required to fast and pregnant women, the ill and the very elderly are permitted to either postpone their fast to a later time, or give to charity in lieu of fasting.
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