Dear fellow compatriots!
I congratulate you, from the depths of my heart, on the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan and I ask God to accept your
prayers during the month of fasting. May all prayers performed by you during this holy month bring even more sounding successes
and prosperity to your families and the whole country!
This year, Oraza coincides with the celebration of the 13th anniversary of our beloved country's independence. The courageous
Turkmen people, whose history has ancient roots, has made adequate preparations to mark this great holiday. God willing, we
will hold 15th People's Council of Turkmenistan this month that will outline major directions of development of our state
for coming years. Our country's clergymen have also made a significant contribution to adopting these landmark decisions and
achieving all our successes. Availing myself of this opportunity, I want to sincerely thank them for raising the young generation
in the spirit of allegiance to Motherland and people, deep love for the neutral country, for their contribution to strengthening
unity and consolidation of the nation, for their great charitable work.
Dear fellow countrymen!
As our wise poet Matymguly said, "Ramadan is the best month of all months", the month of Oraza is the most charitable
month for the entire Muslim world, because every Muslim undergoes dramatic changes in his life, his soul is full of kindness
and purity, love and compassion, tolerance and gratefulness.
It is not that Muslims simply don't eat in the daytime during this month. They close the doors of their souls to keep
it away from dark and evil forces. Every Muslim aspires to clean up his soul and body and attain purity of his faith, mind,
vision and language - in other words, to clean up himself. A fasting Muslim restrains from bad things. He tries to make no
mistakes and to hurt nobody. He is sincerely set to do people good. That is why our ancestors believed that Ramadan is a month
of awakening of everything, which is pure and good - friendship, unity of people, mutual respect, inspiration, love and fondness.
Dear fellow compatriots!
After obtaining the great independence, we revived all the best traditions our ancestors left for us, including Oraza
Bayramy. The holy month with its Night of Omnipotence, celebrated annually, charges, in the full sense of this word, the people
of independent and neutral Turkmenistan with great joy and inspiration. It has become a good tradition to release from prison
every year on the Night of Omnipotence those who have repented and been pardoned, offering them a chance to start a new life,
work honestly and restore their good names. It is true that those who have returned to their love ones on the Night of Omnipotence
will not do anything wrong again, and will think about the future and their place in it. Many thousands of such people have
already joined the ranks of those working vigorously for the sake of beloved Fatherland. We strongly believe that those to
be amnestied on this year's Night of Omnipotence will become completely different people, people with God in their hearts.
Every man cleans up his soul from husk and gets stronger in his faith. Only physically and morally healthy people can
build a healthy society. A state becomes stronger and powerful with such kind of society. That is why every man has to aim
at living in purity of his soul and moral not only during the month of Ramada but trough his entire life. I believe that Rukhnama
will help you achieve that. It will become a mainspring of your spiritual life.
Dear fellow countrymen!
I congratulate you one more time on the arrival of the holy month of Oraza and wish you all good health, long life, successes
in all your deeds, and I pray the Almighty God that the fire in your homes never blow up.
Let everything that you pray for in the holy month of Oraza realize!
President of Turkmenistan
Saparmurat NIYAZOV
15 October 2004
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