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WORLD
CAPITALS, October 13 (IslamOnline.net) - Muslims in at least 23
countries across the world will start observing the Muslims’ holy
month of Ramadan on Friday, October 15.
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 dust-to-dawn fasting on Friday.
In
the Gulf region, five of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council
members officially announced that the dust-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.
