For the month, followers are required to abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to dusk. Activity peaks between "iftar", the breaking of the fast at sunset, and "sahar", the last meal of the day before sunrise. Religious authorities in much of the Middle East declared that Monday will be start of the holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Official statements were issued late Saturday in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and the Palestinian territories saying the holy month will start Monday. Religious authorities in Syria, Qatar and Kuwait agreed. Ramadan starts the day after the sighting of the crescent moon that marks the beginning of a new lunar month. Some countries use astronomical calculations and observatories, while others rely on the naked eye alone, leading sometimes to different starting times. Libya, for example, will begin the holy period on Sunday. The state-run Libyan news agency reported that religious officials there had already spotted the first tiny sliver of moon. In Iran, newspapers reported that Ramadan would likely to start Tuesday. In Iraq, some people will follow the Iranian start, while others will begin on Monday, like Saudi Arabia. Ramadan can last either 29 or 30 days, depending on when the first moon of the next lunar month is sighted. Ramadan begins around 11 days earlier each year. Currently, that brings it more and more into the long, hot days of summer. Daily life slows down during Ramadan with many businesses closing early in deference to a holy event.
source : Alalam
Monday
15 June 2009
7:30:00 PM
118609
Muslims across the world are preparing for the holy month of Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month in the Muslim calendar, which is traditionally determined by the sighting of a new moon.