Ramadan is a time of togetherness, celebration, and spirituality for many Muslims around the world.
Reduced working hours and a change in lifestyle lead to varying media consumption habits and purchase behaviors. On Facebook, for instance, activity across the MENA region peaks by 15 percent as 86 percent of Facebook users celebrate Ramadan.
Its users, however, cannot watch the prayers in the Holy Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. So now, the platform has partnered with Saudi English-language daily Arab News to live stream the prayers on Facebook.
Throughout the month of Ramadan, the Taraweeh prayers – the additional evening prayers performed during the Islamic holy month – will be streamed live on Arab News’ newsfeed in conjunction with Facebook and Saudi state-owned television as part of the newspaper’s wider coverage during Ramadan.
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“Our partnership with Facebook will allow our audiences across the world – who perhaps couldn’t make it to Makkah for the Muslim holy month – to capture some of the spirituality of Ramadan as we live broadcast the Taraweeh prayers from the Holy Mosque every night,” says Faisal J. Abbas, editor in chief of Arab News.
“Other Ramadan-related coverage will include human stories from the Middle East and beyond, as Muslims across the world together celebrate this important month of fasting, prayer and reflection,” he adds.
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This partnership comes at a critical time for the region where publishers have voiced their concerns against tech platforms and are looking for a more balanced and collaborative approach. “We work with publishers and broadcasters to offer specific tools and features to help engage people around the programming that matters most to them and the content they love to share with friends,” says Fares Akkad, Facebook’s head of media partnerships in the Middle East,Turkey and Africa.
