|
Mandingo Nations Website |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
Useful Links |
News And Articles |
||||||||||||
|
Community Links
|
Ramadan on August 22 in N. America:
ISNA By: IOL Staff August 08, 2009  CAIRO
— The holy fasting month of Ramadan will start in North America on
Saturday, August 22, according to astronomical calculations, the Islamic
Society of North America (ISNA) has announced. "The astronomical New Moon is on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:01 Universal Time (1:01 pm Makkah time). Sunset at Makkah on August 20 is at 6:47 pm local time, while moonset at Makkah is at 6:46 pm local time (1 minute before sunset)," ISNA said in a statement on its website. "Therefore the following day Friday, August 21, 2009 is not the 1st day of Ramadan. "First day of Ramadan is Saturday, August 22, insha'Allah. First Tarawih prayer will be on Friday night." During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset. ISNA said astronomical calculations also show that this year's Ramadan will be 29 days and that the first day of `Eid Al-Fitr will be on Sunday, September 20. "The astronomical New Moon is on Friday, September 18, 2009, at 18:44 Universal Time (9:44 pm Makkah time). On Saturday, September 19, 2009, sunset at Makkah is 6:20 pm local time, while moonset is at 6:36 pm local time," the statement said. "Therefore, first day of Shawwal, i.e., `Eid Al-Fitr is Sunday, September 20, insha'Allah." Meanwhile, the Islamic Crescents' Observation Project (ICOP) said Ramadan will start on Friday, August 21, in some countries and a day later in other states, according to astronomical calculations. "According to the Universal Hejric Calendar (UHC), which is based on the calculated crescent visibility, the start of this month in the Eastern Region will be on Saturday 22 August 2009 and in the Western Region will be on Friday 21 August 2009," ICOP said on its website. Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) has already said that the holy fasting month will start on Saturday, August 22, according to astronomical calculations. The Libyan Center for Remote Sensing and Space Science also said that the dawn-to-dusk fasting month will start on Friday, August 21. The first day of Ramadan and moon sighting have 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 the same moon 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 the authority in charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a given country announces the sighting of the new moon, then Muslims in the country should all abide by this. This usually causes confusion among Muslims, particularly in the West, on observing the dawn-to-dusk fasting and celebrating the `Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting. |
||||||||||||
|
Mandingo
Nations Webite Incorp. |
|||||||||||||
