Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Ramadan Mubarak and Ramadan Kareem to all my Muslim sisters and brothers around the world. For us, the holy month of fasting is about focusing on our hearts, our minds, our bodies and our souls. The first words of the Koran revealed to Prophet Mohammed—sallallahu alaihi wasallam—during Ramadan are these: 'Iqra bismi rabbika lazi khalaq.' This signifies the importance of life being guided by learning, seeking knowledge and devotion. Ramadan is about individual devotion and prayer to Allah, and it is about collective responsibility. We don't just fast from food and water; we also fast from complacency. We are asked to remember hunger and to remember vulnerability. It is a reminder to fulfil our obligations to each other, to our neighbours, to our fellow humans and to the planet.

This year, our obligations, our prayers and our duas feel more urgent than ever before. I am more worried than I have ever been about the state of the world, about another illegal war perpetrated by the US on Iran, about injustice, about the violence and suffering unfolding in so many places, and about communities crushed under the weight of genocide, climate catastrophe, poverty and discrimination. Ramadan is a time when our hearts feel closer to both pain and hope. Hope is not abstract. Hope is built. Hope is organised. Hope is action. Hope is the responsibility to act when we see injustice, oppression and unfairness. Hope is resistance against oppression and despair. Our faith is not passive; it is very powerful, so let us not lose sight of this power. This Ramadan, let's hug each other a bit tighter as we fast, pray and act with courage, wisdom and hope for a better world.