As Muslims prepare to usher in the extraordinary month of Ramadan on Monday night, VOC casts its eye on the busiest time of the year, when the radio station is expected to peak in listenership. In keeping with the spiritual vibe of Ramadan, the station has spiced up its programming line-up with more religious content, aimed at inspiring and rejuvenating the fasting Muslim. For Ramadan 1437, VOC will embark on the theme “In Pursuit of Excellence in Faith”.
“Ramadan is a time in which we intensify our ibaadat and recitation of the Quran, hopefully as a benchmark to take forth through into the year ahead,” explains VOC’s acting programme manager Rashieda Davids.
“Everyone tries to uphold Ramadan to their best of their ability and goes into this month with the purest of intentions. It is simply our wish that we as a radio station can help to accompany our listeners on this spiritual journey.”
Ramadan line-up
To bring to life to essence of Ramadan, VOC has swished up its conventional programming, which is sure to motivate listeners from the early hours of the morning till bedtime.
Ramadan morning will start each day with Salaahtul Layl from Town Centre Masjid in Mitchells Plain from midnight to 1am.
VOC’s popular AM Inspirations makes way for Sabaahul Ghayr Fee Ramadan, presented by Maajida Emandien from 5pm to Fajr. This is followed by the live Fajr salah from Addison Road masjid in Salt River every day, with a daily lecture by Maulana Abdul-Fatah Carr.
The daily ‘breakfast’ menu on Breakfast Beat will make way for In the Fast Lane, the Ramadan morning rush hour news show from, 7am to 9am. Following the popular Juz of the Day, Ayesha Laatoe brings her bubbly persona to Ramadan Reflections from 10am to 112pm, in which she presents a synopsis of the Juz read.
Najma Bibi-Noor Mahomed puts Midday Crunch on hold for the month to present Ramadan QnA from 12pm to 1pm. This time around, Ramadan QnA will cover different topics every day, with a focus on Ramadan, Zakah, family matters and charity.
Tasleema Allie steps into the afternoon slot to take over from Adiela Fortune, who will be on a sabbatical in Ramadan. The current affairs show Drivetime is slashed to one hour, as Maghrib and iftaar is earlier during the winter months. This means the iftaar build-up begins at 5pm with a daily lecture by a local imam.
After the Maghrib athaan, The Iftar Show continues until the Taraweeh prayer from a different masjid every night. Thereafter, listeners can enjoy readings by Aisha Wright from the Jumuah Mosque in Cape Town.
At 10pm, VOC listeners can also look forward to a live broadcast of Mufti Ismail Menk at Bosmont masjid in Johannesburg on “Lessons from the Verses of the Holy Quran.” This is followed by recitals from students from Ahlil Quran Madrassa who will deliver another Juz of the Day before we head into midnight.
VOC also continues its Ramadan outreach programme on Sundays, Ahlan Wasahan, which will be taken to four different communities.
Outside broadcasts
Ramadan is the most stressful and taxing month for VOCs technical team, who often stretch themselves above and beyond the call of duty. The stations outside broadcast squad sacrifice time with their families, spending every night on the road to a different masjid for Taraweeh.
This year, the team will conduct 30 Salahtul Layl broadcasts, 30 Fajr broadcasts, 30 Taraweeh broadcasts and 35 commercial outside broadcasts – a stellar total of 125 for the month.
“It’s a very intense month for all VOC staff, but the real work begins way in advance. Nothing is possible without the collective effort of our strong team, who really go all out to bring the listener engaging programming during this month,” added Davids.
Download the full Taraweeh schedule here:
The Voice of the Cape’s station management and staff wish its listeners and clients a Ramadan Kareem. We make dua that the Almighty forgive us for our wrongdoings. We hope this Ramadan is the start of repentance and enlightenment.
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