23 Countries Start Fasting Friday

Egyptian Mufti Ali Gomaa said on state television Wednesday, October 13, that Thursday, October 14, will be the last day of Sha`ban and Ramadan will start on Friday.

Moving to the south, Sudan set Friday as the beginning of the holy month.

Algerians will also start the dawn-to-dusk fasting on Friday.

In the Gulf region, five of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council members officially announced that the dusk-to-dawn fasting will begin on Friday.

Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates said the new moon could not be sighted Wednesday and therefore Ramadan will fall on.

Neighboring Yemen was also on board.

Moving to the north, the religious authorities in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria also announced Friday as the start day of fasting.

In occupied Iraq, the state-run Sunni Endowment Authority announced that Ramadan will start Friday.

The country’s Shiites, meanwhile, will sight the moon on Thursday and if they failed to see the new crescent they would start fasting on Saturday.

Both Jordan and Libya struck the discordant note.

The Libyan state-run television said fasting will start on Thursday while Jordan announced that the first day of Ramadan will fall Saturday.

Asia & Russia

In a number of Asian countries, government authorities and Islamic organizations announced that Ramadan will start like in many countries on Friday.

Ramadan breeze came up and filled the four corners of Turkey which will observe the holy fasting month as of Friday according to astronomical calculations.

In Singapore, the government and the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) agreed months ago to follow astrological calculations which set Friday as the start of Ramadan.

The neighboring sultanate of Brunei always follows Singapore in starting the fasting.

Head of the Council of Muftis of Russia Ravil Gainutdin told a press conference Wednesday that Friday is the first day of Ramadan.

In Uzbekistan, the state news agency said Ramadan will start Friday.

Islamic authorities in Belarus, Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan said fasting will begin on Friday.

Muslims in south Nigeria will start the holy fasting month of Ramadan Friday according to astrological calculations while their fellow Muslims in the north insist to start fasting only after the sighting of the new moon.

Moon sighting has always been a controversial issue among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem at odds over the issue.

While one group of scholars sees that Muslims in other regions and countries are to follow this sighting as long as these countries share one part of the night, another states that Muslims everywhere should abide by the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.

A third, however, disputes both views, arguing that Islam is against division and disunity, since Muslims, for instance, are not allowed to hold two congregational prayers in one mosque at the same time.

This group believes that the authority in charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a given country (such as Egypt’s Dar al-Iftaa [House of Fatwa]) announces the sighting of the new moon, then Muslims in the country should all abide by this.