Speech by the Federal Deputy of Brazil, Vicente Paulo Da SilvaVicentinho in Congress.Proposal to create the National Day of the Muslim Community inBrazil

Ladies and gentlemen, in this fight for religious tolerance, I am the author of bill
number 10,941 of 2018.
This draft has already passed through all the committees and is about to be voted
on by the Committee on the Constitution and Justice.
What does this project consist of?
It is a project that creates the national day of the Muslim community in Brazil.
I have visited several mosques, especially in São Bernardo do Campo, to tell you
that this date will be very important and I would very much like to have your
support so that we approve this project.
And by the way, Mr President, speaking to the Imam of St. Bernard, you referred
to Ramadan.
What is Ramadan?
We have the quarantine of the Catholic community, but Ramadan, the month of
Ramadan, is the month in which Muslims excuse themselves from dawn to dusk
in obedience to God, as a form of spiritual, mental, physical purification. In addition
to being a way to feel on the skin what those in need of hunger and thirst feel,
encouraging them to help those less fortunate.

It is also a way for a person to value the gifts they have learned and to be grateful
and humble, as well as the sincerest worship there is, as it remains a secret
between people and their Creator. During the day, a Muslim may not drink liquids
or eat solids, and may not have intercourse with his spouse from sunrise to sunset.
During the night, worshippers gather to break the fast together, as a form of
fraternization, and then they will gather in mosques to pray the specific prayers of
that month.
At the end of the month, Muslims hold a religious ceremony and then there is a
big gathering with all people, regardless of their conditions.
This year, the month of Ramadan begins on March 10 as it depends on the
position of the moon, as Islamic months are counted according to the moon.
This message, Mr. President, is to talk about the importance of this community, a
community that came here to Brazil along with the discoverers. They arrived in
Brazil in 1500. Therefore, Mr President, I would like to pay tribute to this
community, to express our commitment.
I am a member of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace. And
the day when we have respect between religions, on the day when, instead of
being a competition, the relationship between religions is one of communion,
Brazil and the Earth will be different.
Thank you, Mr. President.