Dakar, Senegal - Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade on Monday called for peace, tranquillity of spirit and cordial understanding as the Muslims in the West African country prepared to begin their month-long fasting.

In a message on the eve of Ramadan in Senegal, he congratulated the Muslim community in his country and all the Islamic Ummah.

'Beyond the abstinence stipulated to liberate the believer the fast is also a privileged moment for introspection, repentance and forgiveness in search for spiritual elevation,' said president Wade, who is also the incumbent chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

'On the path to faith and inclusive worship to God, Ramadan also forces us to go and meet the other person to look into the diversity of human conditions, the same way it requires solidarity and sharing with the impoverished in accordance with the lessons of our religion,' he added.

The Senegalese national consultation commission on the moon crescent (CONACOC) said Ramadan would begin on Tuesday in the country.

Pana 02/08/2011