Saudi Arabia, most GCC countries announce Wednesday as start of Ramadan

Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday as the first official day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, after the crescent moon was sighted in the Kingdom, official news agency SPA announced on Tuesday.

Many other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, will also observe the start holy month on Wednesday.

Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen also made a similar announcement.

Oman, which relies on scientific calcultations, was the first country from the GCC to announce the start of Ramadan, declaring it on Thursday, following an announcement from the Main Committee for Moon Sighting.

The Oman News Agency said this was confirmed following astronomical evidence that the crescent moon would be impossible to sight on Tuesday, so Wednesday would be the last day of Shaaban, the month preceding Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia, which typically relies on naked eye sighting in line with Islamic tradition, announced that for the first time, modern technologies will be used to observe the lunar crescent at the Sudair Observatory.

Saudi media said earlier that weather conditions were "clear and calm," enabling a relatively smooth moon sighting procedure.

Since Tuesday, Muslims around the world have been scanning the skies to spot a crescent moon that marks the beginning Ramadan.

The start of Ramadan across the Muslim world can vary, as many factors determine the start and end of months in the Islamic calendar, with some countries relying on the human eye to spot the moon, which can be impacted by cloud cover and weather, and others relying on astronomical calculations.

Morocco’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs said it will look out for the crescent moon on Wednesday, with astronomers predicting the start of the holy month to be Thursday.

Ramadan will also likely start in Jordan, Syria, and Egypt on Thursday.

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, was among the first countries to announce Thursday as the first day of Ramadan after conducting an official Isbat, or confirmation session, earlier on Tuesday.

Moon sightings, or Rukyatul Hilal as it is known in Indonesia, were carried out in various places across the country, and included input from religious scholars, astronomers, and government officials.

Malaysia, Indonesia’s neighbour, also announced that the first full day of fasting will begin on Thursday, after failing to sight the moon on Tuesday.

The announcement was made by Malaysia’s Keeper of the Rulers’ seal, Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmed.

Lunar sightings took place across 29 locations in the country.

Brunei and Singapore will also observe on the same day as their neighbours, according to official announcements from local media.

Elsewhere, Turkey also said Ramadan will begin to be observed on Thursday. Meanwhile, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh said the holy month will likely begin on either Thursday or Friday.

In the UK, Imad Ahmed, the director of the New Crescent Society, told The New Arab that the organisation is "excited to look for the new crescent of Ramadan” on Wednesday, 18 February.

"We have moonsighting locations around the country, and we’ll be livestreaming the moonsighting from the Royal Observatory Greenwich YouTube channel. If the weather is clear, we hope to sight the moon and broadcast this live, and begin fasting on Thursday, 19 February," he said.

The New Crescent Society has dedicated itself since 2017 to accurate lunar sightings in the UK and encourages learning more about the relationship between Islam and astronomy, as well as training moon sighters to better understand the traditional Muslim practice.

Ahmed added that Ramadan might be observed on different dates in the country, as the UK does not have a unified Islamic calendar, with many mosques outsourcing their calendar to different countries due to a lack of training in moon sightings.

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, will see Muslims across the world abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset, as well as sexual activity and smoking.

The month also entails increased worship, especially long, communal prayer known as Tarawih, reflection, good deeds, and achieving greater closeness to God.

It is the month in which it is widely believed that the Quran, Islam’s holy book, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Fasting is among the Five Pillars of Islam, and is obligatory for all capable Muslims. Those who are elderly, ill, travelling, breastfeeding, menstruating, or pregnant are exempt.