"The new thing this year is that the announcement of the first day (of Ramadan) would be made through a council unifying all Muslims," Ibriz said

By Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent

PARIS, October 25 (IslamOnline.net) – For the first time in France, a Muslim committee is scheduled to convene late on Saturday, October 25, to settle on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"The committee, which was set up by the  French Muslim Council, will depend mainly on astrological calculations to determine the first day of the dawn-to-dusk fasting month, which is expected to fall on Monday, October 27," Ahmad Gaballah, imam of the Union of Islamic Organizations in France's (UIOF's) mosque, told IslamOnline.net.

"We were until very recently determining the first day of Ramadan according to Muslim countries," Gaballah added.

The council's deputy chairman, Althuhami Ibriz, said it is the first time that all Muslims in France agree on unifying the start of Ramadan.

"Three years ago, French Muslims had realized the importance of start fasting on the same day…The new thing this year is that the announcement of the first day would be made through a council unifying all Muslims," he stressed.

French Muslims - around six million - are also happy with the new move, praising the council for organizing their religious rituals as they were previously divided over the issue with each community following the lunar calendar of their country of origin.

"No more divisions on the first day of Ramadan," Ibrahim Gado, from the Comoros, told IOL.

"Now we must follow the instructions given by the council on anything concerning our religion and observe the first day of Ramadan and Eid instead of having to wait for a phone call all the way from the Comoros to regulate our rituals," he added.

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.