Started this year on Thursday March 23, Ramadan, a period which, for Muslims, commemorates the revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad, traditionally ends with Eid el-Fitr, the feast of breaking the fast, fixed in 2023 , as of April 21. Another tradition (since 1991), France 2 is getting in tune and broadcasting La Nuit du ramadan, a program that combines music, gastronomy and encounters.

Particularly successful, the 2023 edition, placed under the sign of travel and the meeting of cultures, begins with the discovery – for many – of the Hérault group Rabie Houti Band, which mixes Arab-Andalusian singing with the sounds of electro rock instruments. This was followed by the arrival of journalist Zohra Ben Miloud, to co-present the program recorded at La Petite Halle de La Villette, in Paris, alongside the “historical” Myriam Seurat. Also in duo, since February, with Samuel Etienne to provide information from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., on France Info (channel 27), Zohra Ben Miloud is very comfortable in this role.

It is she who interviews Mohamed Bajrafil, theologian, who lends himself to the game of popularization with simplicity. To the classic question “Why in all religions are people asked to starve themselves [Muslim Ramadan, Christian Lent, Jewish Yom Kippur]?” he begins by replying, “Aiming for the belly is mastering one’s baser instincts” – before expanding: “It’s also putting yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t have to eat every day.” »

Popularization with simplicity

This explains why the month of Ramadan is the month of giving. Hence the presence, among others, of Rachid Arar, founder of the association La Table Ouvert, which distributes 1,200 liters of soup a day during Ramadan.

In common thread of the show, three chefs present their specialties, following the starter-main course-dessert chronology: the chef and presenter of cooking shows Shérazade Laoudedj, the Indonesian Aziza, and Ghalil Achiraffi, sole owner of a restaurant Comorian in Paris.

On the variety side, alongside the renowned Chimène Badi, Charlie Winston or Imany, the singer Amel Brahim-Djelloul leaves the lyric aside for a while to interpret the Kabyle repertoire of her childhood; Tété sings his hit A favor of autumn. And the rapper Nizar (Enfant du bled) is the first to make the whole room laugh by cracking in front of the tapioca chips with pink edge of Aziza.

It is impossible to name all the artists and speakers here. Among them, Sultan Al-Neyadi finds himself in an unprecedented situation. The first Emirati astronaut to spend six months on the International Space Station, he orbits the Earth at 27,000 kilometers per hour and watches 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets a day. Under these conditions, when should he fast? Answer, April 19 at 11:55 p.m.