I extend greetings and best wishes to the Muslim community of Guyana as they commence Ramadan 2013.
This Holy Month is very dear to Muslims throughout the world, and offers the followers of Islam the opportunity to deepen their faith through prayer and acts of piety. It also promotes personal self-purification of body and mind by encouraging fasting, abstinence and the banishing of ill-thoughts and feelings. Ramadan is an exalted period, a time for Muslims to step aside from their worldly preoccupations and embrace a period of deep personal introspection, self-examination, sacrifice and charity. Through this process, Muslims deepen their faith and encourage goodness and harmony in their relations with each other and the wider society.
I am particularly pleased by the example of devotion and self-discipline demonstrated by Muslims during this period. I hope that Ramadan will encourage all of us to recognize the values of these virtues in our lives and in improving relations in our society.
A Happy and Holy Ramadan to all!