4 Established 1961 Local Monday, May 21, 2018

History of Kuwait

The ‘fanous’ lights the way for a happy

By Faten Omar

uwait Times celebrates Ramadan in Kuwait with 30 Kdays of the Icons of Ramadan. We will highlight our favorite activi- ties, events, symbols and foods that are popular during this holy month, along with Kuwait’s Ramadan culture, history and traditions. During Ramadan, homes, malls, hotels and streets in the Middle East are decorated with colorful lanterns. Known in Arabic as fanous (pl fawa- nees), they range in size and shape, creating a beautiful and magical atmosphere. The fanous has become a worldwide symbol that represents Ramadan. In the early days of Islam, the lanterns used to light up the way to go to the mosque and visit friends and relatives. The word ‘fanous’ is from the Greek phanos, referring to one of the means of illumination. There are many stories about the holy month. origin of the lantern. One of these is Generations of continue to that the Fatimid caliph was out on the hold on to traditions and light the streets at night to sight the crescent fanous to welcome Ramadan. of Ramadan, and children went out KUWAIT: The dates market as it looked like in early 1960. Dates are famous foods in Kuwait and the Arabian Peninsula throughout the with him with lanterns to light the way. Email us at [email protected] history of the region. The picture shows a child eating dates while the seller and a customer look on. (Source: ‘Pictures of the old mar- The children sang songs to express with your favorite symbols of kets of Kuwait’ by Ali Al-Rais, Center of Research and Studies on Kuwait 2017. Researched by Mohammad Zakaria Abu El Ella, heritage their happiness on the advent of the Ramadan and Ramadan photos. researcher in the Ministry of Information)

Over 1.3 million Zain supports #Ramadan_Aman users installed campaign for second consecutive year KFH Quran App KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced its main spon- sorship of the #Ramadan_Aman (Safe KUWAIT: Over 1.3 million users installed Ramadan) campaign for the second consecutive the high-quality version 4 of the Holy year in collaboration with “Nahtam” volunteer- Quran Application launched by Kuwait ing team (under the Volunteering Work Center) Finance House (KFH) in less than a month. and the Ministry of Interior. This year, the cam- This app is available on App Store for paign comes under the tagline ‘Together for a iPhone and iPad users with enhanced fea- Ramadan without accidents’, with the aim of tures of which are a novel display design, reducing road accidents during time in compatibility with different languages and Ramadan. Zain’s support to this campaign for screen orientation; horizontal and vertical. the second consecutive year came in line with Group Chief Strategy Officer at KFH, Fahad Al-Mukhaizeem its Corporate Sustainability and Social Fahad Khaled Al-Mukhaizeem, said that Responsibility Strategy and under its Ramadan the initiative of launching the Quran app campaign, which focuses on supporting cam- emphasizes the success of KFH in adopting with the app while keeping the beauty of paigns and initiatives that present an added val- technology, while strengthening the Bank’s the Holy Quran such as the Othmani font, ue to the society. Zain is keen on enriching its identity in all its businesses as a world inscriptions and directories verses; of contributions towards the community in which it leading Islamic financial institution. The Soura and Ayah, side margins to enhance operates all year-round and especially in the application assists in spreading the Holy the aesthetics of the content, display more Holy Month of Ramadan. Quran and its meanings and teachings than one page on the screen, the ability to Ramadan Aman, which means “Safe among users around the globe, especially operate with another application on the Ramadan”, is a volunteering campaign that cen- in the holy month of Ramadan. screen, save the options used and retrieve ters around the idea of distributing iftar meals to Mukhaizeem added in a press state- them on more than one device, as well as drivers on intersections, traffic lights, and main KUWAIT: Zain volunteers participate in distributing meals to drivers. ment, that the version 4 of the Holy Quran the previous features of interpretations roads during Maghreb prayer time, with the aim App is a gift from KFH to all users around and translations of several languages, night of reducing road accidents that usually occur lives. Zain’s social and CSSR campaign during large number of boxes to Zain’s partners of non- the globe who are seeking to benefit from light feature and other features. during this period due to speeding to catch up the holy month of Ramadan includes an exten- profit entities, including the Kuwait Red the latest available mobile technology, Mukhaizeem indicated KFH will contin- to the iftar meal. Zain volunteers participated in sive array of initiatives and programs that focus Crescent Society (KRCS), the Kuwait Food especially after the great success of previ- ue upgrading the Holy Quran application, distributing the iftar meals, and Zain also sent on celebrating the true spirit the Holy month Bank, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, ous versions of the Holy Quran app where revealing that one of the main features of awareness messages through SMS and social brings. Zain kicked-off its Ramadan campaign and Zakat House. the number of users worldwide on IOS and the upcoming phase is the ability to share media to raise awareness about this campaign before the beginning of the Holy Month, where Zain also provides fasting individuals with Android outpaced 3 million users. Holy Quran verses on social media chan- and contribute to minimizing the number of road the company’s own team of volunteers packed daily iftar meals under the supervision of its vol- He explained that the all-new Holy nels, supporting guidance features for the accidents during this period. Ramadan Machla boxes - containing essential unteers team. The banquets are spread in three Quran app supports the new versions of blind in addition to several features and Zain’s solid Corporate Sustainability and food supplies - at the company’s main head- main halls in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Khaitan, and iPhones and iPads such as iPhone X, iPad characteristics. iPhone and iPad users can Social Responsibility strategy primarily focuses quarters and delivered them to underprivileged Hawally as part of a strategy to cover the most Pro. It is specially designed to both display visit App Store and download the free on the wellbeing of the entire nation. For this families who are in need of support during the populated areas of Kuwait in order to assure the and provide audio for the Holy Quran in an Quran app by adding KFH on the search reason, the company has maintained its support month of fasting. The distribution covered multi- maximum amount of individuals’ iftar needs are easy and interactive way. This latest list. This app is a key App for People in of numerous initiatives that spread awareness ple areas of Al-Jahra governorate throughout covered. This year, Zain will offer over 50,000 release gives users an ability to interact Ramadan. and help make a difference to people’s everyday four days. The plan also included delivering a daily iftar meals throughout the holy month.

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) distributed suhoor meals to cleaning and construction workers as part of its social responsibility activities during the holy month of Ramadan.