Ramadan’s ‘Mesaharati’ Disappears from Sudan's Big Cities in Sudan, Remains Resilient in Countryside

Mesaharatis in Sudan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Mesaharatis in Sudan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Ramadan’s ‘Mesaharati’ Disappears from Sudan's Big Cities in Sudan, Remains Resilient in Countryside

Mesaharatis in Sudan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Mesaharatis in Sudan (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A mesaharati, also known as “the Dawn Caller of Ramadan,” is a person who wakes others up before dawn to eat before their fast during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.

The voluntary job has been around for generations but has gone missing in big Sudanese cities, where the more significant part of the population relies on social media and satellite channels to stay up late till Suhur on their own, without the need for a mesaharati.

Suhur is the meal consumed by Muslims before dawn breaks, and they start fasting during Ramadan.

In today’s Sudan, mesaharatis can only be found in the countryside, where the phenomenon is honored as a celebration of religious and cultural heritage in the North African nation.

“The countryside still enjoys calm nights and people there sleep early. It is as it was in the past,” said the President of the National Union for Folklore Heritage Salah El-Din Faragallah.

“Moreover, houses are built close to each other in the countryside,” he added.

Faragallah then explained that these factors help make it easier for the mesaharati to play their role.

Additionally, Faragallah links the survival of the mesaharati in the countryside to a local desire for preserving the traditional features of Ramadan.

He said the mesaharati gives those fasting in the countryside a sense of “activity and vitality,” especially when reciting rhymes and jokes while waking them up for Suhur.

In the few minutes when the mesaharati gets to do their job, the locals have an opportunity to relive their heritage, added Faragallah.

There is no specific age when a person can become a mesaharati, which is why you can find youths volunteering for the job in the Sudanese countryside.

On the matter of mesaharatis being exclusive to the countryside, Eziddine Omar, aged 19, argued that the dawn callers of Ramadan still made trips to the outskirts of Sudanese cities.



Sara Netanyahu: The Ever-Present Wife of Israel’s Prime Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)
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Sara Netanyahu: The Ever-Present Wife of Israel’s Prime Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L), his wife Sara Netanyahu (L), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (2-R) and his wife Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth (R) participate in a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 09 July 2025. (EPA)

Whether dining opposite US President Donald Trump or accompanying her husband on an official Pentagon visit, Sara Netanyahu's front-row role in Washington this week has sparked fresh questions over her place in Israeli politics.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's third wife and the mother of two of his children, Sara Netanyahu has long made headlines, notably for her alleged involvement in the political decisions of her husband.

"My wife and I..." is a phrase often used by the Israeli premier in his official statements, helping to cement Sara's position at the forefront of public life.

This week, as the prime minister visited Washington for a series of high-level meetings in which he discussed a potential Gaza ceasefire deal with the US president, his wife was noticeably present.

On Tuesday, she was photographed sitting opposite Trump at an official dinner following a meeting between the two leaders.

Two days later, she appeared next to her husband, as well as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, as they arrived for meetings at the Pentagon.

But speculation had swirled even before the Netanyahus' departure for Washington.

On the eve of the trip, the prime minister's office announced the resignation of his spokesman Omer Dostri.

A few hours later, following media reports claiming that his wife had been involved in the decision, another statement was issued denying she had any role.

Sara Netanyahu has been the subject of several investigations, including for corruption, fraud and breach of trust, and has also been questioned in connection with her husband's ongoing graft trial.

Married to Benjamin Netanyahu since 1991, the 66-year-old is the target of frequent media attacks which are regularly denounced by her husband.

She has been caricatured in satirical programs for her fashion choices or her profession as a child psychologist, which she has often appeared to boast about.

But above all, she has been targeted for her alleged interference in state affairs.

- 'The real prime minister' -

In a video released in December 2024, Netanyahu denied that his wife was involved in his cabinet appointments or that she was privy to state secrets.

It followed an investigation into Sara Netanyahu aired by Israel's Channnel 12 which the prime minister slammed as a "witch hunt".

In 2021, a former senior official said he had seen a contract signed by the Netanyahus stipulating that Sara had a say in the appointment of Israeli security chiefs.

To that claim, the prime minister's office responded with a brief statement denouncing "a complete lie". The official lost a libel suit brought against him by the Netanyahus' lawyer.

And when the prime minister appointed David Zini as the new head of Israel's Shin Bet security service in May, Israeli journalists once again pointed to the possible influence of Sara Netanyahu, who is thought to be close to Zini's entourage.

Almost two years since the start of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, Sara Netanyahu seems to have established herself as more indispensable than ever, with some even attributing her with increasing influence on strategic issues.

In May, when Sara Netanyahu corrected the number of living Gaza hostages given by her husband during a recorded meeting with the captives' families, speculation swirled that she had access to classified information.

Journalist and Netanyahu biographer Ben Caspit went as far as to describe Sara Netanyahu as the "real prime minister".

"It has become public knowledge. It is an integral part of our lives... we are normalizing the fact that someone has dismantled the leadership of the state in favor of chaotic, family-based management," Caspit said in an opinion piece published on the website of the Maariv newspaper.

In an interview with US news outlet Fox News on Wednesday, Netanyahu described his wife as a "wonderful partner" and praised her help over the years.