GENEVA, November 5 (IslamOnline) - Muslims in Switzerland launched fruitful cooperation between them to determine the beginning of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan.

In the past, members of each Islamic community used to follow the start of the holy month in their original countries.

The Turkish and Albanian communities, that form the majority of Muslims in Switzerland, were the only ones who did not rely on the eye-sighting of the crescent and used to only follow the instructions of the waqfs ministry on determining the beginning of Ramadan and Eid Ul-Adha.

Arabs, especially Middle Easterners, always sought the outcome of the crescent eye-sighting in Islamic countries, especially in Saudi Arabia, through Islamic cultural bodies in Geneva.

Swiss media always ridiculed Muslims over failure to agree on the beginning and end of Ramadan, dismissing this failure as evidence of disparities among Muslims living in one country.

With the passage of time, the fruits of cooperation between the federation of Islamic centers and societies and the union of Muslims in Switzerland became self-evident.

All these centers agree on announcing the beginning of Ramadan by linking astronomical information and the eye-sighting in different Islamic countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

Arab, Albanian and Turkish mosques, outside the control of Ankara, abide by this agreement.

A slim minority of low-cultured people insist on starting Ramadan and Eid Ul-Adha according to the agenda of their countries of origin.

This year, Muslims in Switzerland will observe their fasting amidst tense circumstances where they are facing an unprecedented media campaign and challenges from the authorities.

Last month, the education authorities in Geneva suspended Hani Saed Ramadan el-Bouti, a grandchild of Hassan el-Bana, from his work as a teacher, with an intention to fire him.

Bouti was being punished for an article in the French newspaper Le Monde in which he defended the Islamic shariaa.

The education authorities argued that his defense of the shariaa ran counter to his work as a teacher.

In southeast Switzerland, the authorities denied a Macedonian imam a permit to offer religious sermons to 5000 Muslims.

Arguing that he received his education in Al Madina Al Monawara, the Swiss authorities immediately categorized him a fundamentalist seeking to spread Wahabi teachings in Switzerland.