Gulf News during Ramadan: A time for reflection, trust and understanding

Ramadan Kareem to you and your families. It's a great and blessed time to be here in the UAE and in a newsroom, especially witnessing the excitement ahead of the moon sighting. We use a host of analytical tools at Gulf News to see how many people are on our website and what they are reading. The graph for Tuesday looks like Mount Everest, peaking as Saudi Arabia and then the UAE confirmed the crescent had been seen. 

It was humbling to see hundreds of thousands of people repeatedly visiting gulfnews.com throughout the day, trusting us to tell them the official news. It's a great responsibility and one we truly relish.

As an editor, I take a lot of pride in seeing the team's plans kick into action, from our live coverage and explainers to photos and videos at mosques and cannon sites. We have a great deal more planned for the coming days. You can also rely on us every day for accurate prayer timings. I hope you've also noticed the tweaks to the newspaper and website mastheads and our social accounts to reflect this special month. Gulf News has been here since 1978 and we want to reflect how deeply it is rooted in the traditions, culture and religion of the UAE.

To paraphrase an old saying (rather bluntly), to learn about someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That's why I am fasting for a few days. I am not a Muslim but I thought it would be a useful way to get a greater understanding of what my devoted friends and colleagues are going through. It’s not easy and I have total respect for those showing this level of self-restraint for 30 days. It’s already made me really appreciate the food and drinks we take for granted every day, particularly coffee as all good newsrooms run on a mix of adrenaline and caffeine.

My children have really embraced Ramadan and it's lovely to see them supporting their friends who are fasting and coming home from school with new knowledge and understanding. I'm also hoping to visit a mosque with my family during the month as we continue to immerse ourselves in the culture of the UAE. Having spent my early childhood in Saudi Arabia, I believe it is important to be around different cultures. The world would be a better place with a little more understanding.

While Ramadan is a blessed and peaceful time, sometimes that is not the case on our roads. The traffic flow changes, people are rushing for iftar and many drivers are tired and hungry. Managing Editor Ashfaq Ahmed has kickstarted our Road Safety campaign for the period and summarised our aims very well: ‘Ramadan is a time of reflection, self-restraint and compassion. These values should extend beyond our homes and into our driving habits.’ Throughout the month, we will be highlighting key road safety issues and giving tips and advice. 

Please do stay safe out there and I hope you all have a weekend of reflection and compassion, whether you are fasting or not.