Rabat – The Supreme Court announced yesterday that Ramadan would start in Saudi Arabia this Saturday. These are the other countries following suit: UAE, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Ghana.
Like Saudi Arabia, these countries use the presence of moon sighters to determine the start of Ramadan, and since no crescent moon was seen on Thursday, fasting will begin this Saturday.
The Fiqh Council of North America announced Ramadan would start in North America on Saturday too, however this decision is based on an astronomical calculation as opposed to the moon sighters used in Saudi Arabia.
In Europe, the European Council of Fatwa and Research have also decided that May 27 will be the start of Ramadan.
Over 1.5 billion Muslims across the world will celebrate Ramadan, the month during which they refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations from dawn until dusk.
The longest fast will happen in Nuuk, Greenland, where people fast for 21 hours. People in Punta Arenas, Chile, will fast for the shortest time, which is only ten hours. Moroccans in Rabat will fast for 16 hours, from 3.38am to 7.31pm.
