Ramadan Causes Clock Confusion in Mideast

The start of the holy month of Ramadan next week is causing clock confusion in the Middle East. Egypt and the Palestinians are falling back an hour far earlier than usual, trying to reduce daylight hours for Muslims fasting until sunset in sweltering summer temperatures.

Politics is also adding a twist. The Palestinian militant group Hamas is ending daylight-saving time at midnight Thursday in the Gaza Strip, which it controls, while the West Bank, run by the rival Fatah faction, is waiting until midnight Sunday.

The Palestinians have traditionally changed their clocks at different times from Israel in a gesture of independence. Now for the first time, they’re directing the gesture at each other, reflecting the rival claims for power in the more than year-old split between the Palestinian territories.

Egypt will also move its clocks back one hour at midnight Thursday, a full month earlier than usual. The switch will put Egypt two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and at least an hour later than its Mideast neighbors, further east.

The creeping-up of the clock change reflects the complications of the lunar Islamic calendar.

Ramadan comes around 11 days earlier each year. Currently, that brings it more and more into the long, hot days of summer, making it particularly tough for Muslims, who abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during the holy month. Even in September, temperatures in Egypt are in the upper 30s Celsius.

Egypt’s decision will enable its people to have their “iftar” evening meal, breaking the fast, an hour earlier.

Israel goes off daylight-saving time on Oct. 5, before Yom Kippur, also as a way of making the Jewish holy day’s 25-hour fast easier.

Jordan will switch the clocks back as usual by the end of October, as will Lebanon. Syria falls back in late September, while Saudi Arabia and Iraq don’t change clocks.

Another issue is schools. Ramadan always is seen as a disruption for classes: Children often start trying to adhere to the fast in their early teenage years, and studying during the fast is difficult.

Last year, Ramadan began in mid-September, the same time as schools started, giving a rocky beginning to the school year.

This year, Egypt’s Education Ministry pushed back the start of school about a week to Sept. 20 to reduce the amount of time students must be in class during the fast. Still, many students are complaining on blogs and Internet chat rooms that the school opening should wait until the end of Ramadan.

Egypt’s Central Bank announced that banking hours during the holy month will be down to just four hours a day — from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Ramadan, which commemorates the revelation of the first verses of the Quran to the Prophet Mohammed, begins and ends with the sighting of the new moon.

It’s a festive month, with families and friends gathering for sometimes lavish iftar meals with special Ramadan delicacies. The month ends with the Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday of the breaking of the fast, when Muslims buy gifts for their families.(AP) (AP photo shows Palestinians walking past Ramadan ornaments in Jerusalem’s Old City)

What Could Jesus Learn from Barack Obama?

While Barack Obama is in the Middle East, he brings to mind another great leader who made waves there not too long ago. That’s right: Jesus Christ.

While many people think Obama draws inspiration from Jesus, I view it the other way around. I mean, what could Christ learn from Obama?

There were times when Jesus was plagued with doubt and wondered if he was up to the task. But this doesn’t happen with Obama. Some call it arrogance, but I call it spiritual confidence.
Seriously, would Obama have told God, “Sorry Dad, I can’t die for everyone’s sins. I’d rather build canoes.”

No way. Obama just says, “Bring it on, God.”

Jesus also took grief for hanging with paupers, thieves, even a scorned woman. But just marvel at the way Obama stuck by a controversial life partner, as well as his pal in the Weather Underground. That’s loyalty, Jesus.

And yet, Obama also knew when it was time to cut the strings, as he did with Reverend Wright. If only Jesus had done the same with Judas.

Jesus was only 33 when he died for our sins. And, aside from carpentry, what experience did he have in saving the world? Did he ever run a corporation, hold public office for many years or fight in a war? No, no and no. A Holy Trinity of no — like Obama.

But Obama is older than Jesus, he went to better schools, he can speak more languages and he did narcotics. So you could say he’s been there and done that. And that’s good.

Some say Jesus flip flops: On one hand he preaches forgiveness, on the other he mentions hell. But by seeing how Obama shifts beliefs to gain political advantage, you can see that all great leaders are willing to change. I mean, if you keep falling down, maybe it’s time to buy a better cross.

And sure, Jesus Christ had a funny name. But, here are some other funny names: Gandhi, Confucius, Obama, Pitt. Meanwhile, here are some more common names: Koresh, Manson, Bush.

You get the picture.

And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler.

Greg Gutfeld hosts “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld” weekdays at 3 a.m. ET. Send your comments to: redeye@foxnews.com

Jerusalem a minefield for Obama

When Senator Barack Obama arrives in Israel, he will find plenty of sceptics wondering if such a foreign policy neophyte has what it takes to finally nail down a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Democratic presidential hopeful has already got himself into hot water over one of the thorniest issues: the status of disputed Jerusalem.

Last month, he tried to woo Israel’s powerful US lobby by saying Jerusalem should be Israel’s capital and “must remain undivided”.

Palestinians, who claim the city’s eastern sector as capital of a future state, were furious.

Obama’s attempts to defuse the flap then got him into trouble with some Israelis and their US supporters when he clarified his remarks to say Jerusalem’s fate should be negotiated – the long-standing American position.

“When the candidate lands here [today], a fog of ambiguity will still hover over his position: it remains unclear whether Jerusalem, the focus of his brief trip, will be a united city under Israeli sovereignty or the capital of two states. Barack Obama doesn’t have a clear idea himself, and he has been straddling the fence,” former dovish MP Yossi Sarid wrote in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

Obama arrives in Israel after visiting Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan. He will meet Israeli leaders and, unlike Republican rival John McCain, an avid Israel supporter who visited in March, he will travel to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leaders, too.

Obama has a solid Senate record of supporting Israel. He has reaffirmed his backing for its right to defend itself and underscored the need to stop Iran promoting terrorism or getting nuclear weapons. Like the Bush Administration, he opposes negotiations with the Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Still, his openness to talking to Iran – Israel’s bitterest enemy – and his short stint on the national stage have made many Israelis uncomfortable at the prospect of an Obama presidency.

Ofer Malachi, a 40-year-old contractor from Jerusalem, says Obama would be “very dangerous for Israel” because of his willingness to engage in dialogue with Iran.

Israel is convinced Tehran is building nuclear weapons, despite its protestations to the contrary. Iran also backs two other Israeli foes, Hamas and Lebanon’s Hizbollah guerrillas.

Arieh Eldad of the ultranationalist National Union Party said Obama’s middle name Hussein “concerned” him and he feared the candidate would identify more easily with Arabs than Israelis. “I guess that the Arab citizens of the Arab states around Israel would be concerned if a nominee for being President of the United States, hisfamily name would be Cohen.”

Obama yesterday won endorsement from Iraq’s leadership during a Baghdad visit for his call to pull American combat forces out in 2010, irking the White House and drawing heated criticism from McCain.

Obama’s Iraq stop, including briefings and a helicopter ride above Baghdad with US commander General David Petraeus and meetings with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and other Government leaders, forced the five-year-old war back to the top of the presidential campaign agenda.

McCain was battling to stay in the campaign spotlight as Obama’s travels drew huge attention at home and abroad. The four-term Arizona senator, appearing wrong-footed by the Iraq developments, hotly disagreed on troop withdrawals, saying any pullout “must be based on conditions on the ground”, not arbitrary timelines.

The fissures between them were only deepened when Iraqi Government spokesman Ali al-Dabagh emerged from the Obama-Maliki meeting to say: “We are hoping that in 2010 that combat troops will withdraw.”

Obama has repeatedly said he wants those forces out of the country by the middle of that year.

Iraq’s Sunni Vice-President, Tariq al-Hashemi, said: “I’d be happy if we reach an agreement to say, for instance, December 31, 2010” would mark the departure of the last US combat unit, noting the date would depend on security and the pace of training for Iraqi forces.