With colleagues from North Africa and the Middle East, Euroradio has created for the first time a musical offer reflecting how Ramadan is celebrated in their countries.

Working with the strong support of the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and their Head of Radio, Yasser Garrana, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Territories have assembled mainly vocal music from their own traditions to offer to a European audience.

The world’s cultures have closely mixed spiritual and cultural aspects in marking the highlights of their calendar, and the songs show this clearly.  Rather than reluctantly accepting the period of fasting, one of the Egyptian songs speaks of how greatly Ramadan has been missed during the rest of the year.  Another song calls on children to bring the lanterns, since celebrating Ramadan is like attending a month-long wedding party. Others express religious sentiments, encouraging the faithful to give alms and purify their hearts, as in one of the Lebanese songs. Music-making is clearly central, and a song from Halim al Roumi reminds listeners that “all creatures sing in this month of Ramadan”. 

Yasser Garrana, ASBU Head of Radio, said, “I am delighted that we have been able to collaborate with radio colleagues at the EBU and bring the treasures of our musical traditions to a broader audience across Europe. We hope to build on this foundation and develop our joint radio activities in the future.”

EBU Head of Radio Graham Dixon remarked, “The EBU values speak of the creative enrichment which can come from cultural diversity. We are delighted by this collaboration, which provides insights into the life experience of audiences served by EBU Members.”

The collection of Ramadan music, available to EBU Members and Associates via MUS as WM/16/06/01/01, may be broadcast as a whole, or as individual songs to be inserted into programmes.