TORONTO - Many Canadian Muslims began the Islamic holy month Friday asking God to bring peace to Afghanistan. Some people repeated calls for the U.S.-led military campaign to be suspended during Ramadan. "It should be stopped during this month, because in the Muslim religion it is strictly prohibited to fight or do any kind of bad things," said Irshad Ahmad in Calgary. Others said they hope the world can find another way to stamp out global terrorism. "The Taliban are retreating, and I think that's a good sign," said Fahima Fattah, a former Afghanistan citizen who now lives in Toronto. "Maybe other methods can be used apart from bombing.

"I hope that in this month, the international community commits itself on a long-term basis to bring about peace," she said.

Some Muslim countries, including Afghanistan's neighbour Pakistan, have called for restraint during Ramadan. On Friday, several hundred protesters rallied in the capital Islamabad, criticizing President Gen. Pervez Musharraf for supporting the U.S. bombing.
But the air strikes have been reduced over the past few weeks, according to Pakistan's foreign ministry.
With the Taliban losing so much territory in the past few days, the Pentagon has said its attacks can now be much more concentrated on suspected terrorist training camps and
Taliban command centres.

Written by CBC News Online Staff