Morocco World News
Rabat, July 8, 2013
The sacred month of Ramadan will begin on Wednesday in Morocco, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs announced on Monday.
The month of Sha’ban (Morocco) will be held on the 30th day. The 1st of the holy month of Ramadan 1433 AH corresponds to Saturday, July 21, 2012.
Ramadan will begin on Wednesday in most Arab countries. Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen were among those to announce that Wednesday will be the first day of this holy month.
The announcement made by these countries will, undoubtedly, create a confusion among Arab and Muslim expatriates living in Europe, North America and other continents, especially as the the Fiqh Council of North America, which bases its decision on astronomical calculations, announced early on Monday that first day of Ramadan of this year is Tuesday 9 July.
To follow Saudi Arabia and the other Arab countries or the Fiqh Council of North America will be the dilemma that will hunt Muslims living in the United States and Canada.
The calculations of the Islamic calendar are based on the lunar calendar, which causes the Islamic months to move in the Gregorian calendar approximately 11 days every year. The beginning of Islamic months may also vary from one country to another depending on whether the moon has been sighted or not.