The first day of the holy month (for the Muslim community) of Ramadan will officially be Thursday, March 23, announced Tuesday evening Hichem Ben Mahmoud, Mufti of the Republic of Tunisia.
Addressing his compatriots in a short televised address, Mr. Ben Mahmoud, who is the highest religious official, in charge of major religious issues, confirmed that tomorrow, Wednesday, would coincide with the end of the month of ‘Sha’ban’ (the month preceding Ramadan on the religious calendar of Islam), for lack of proven observation of the crescent.
Earlier, moments following sunset, Yassin Zarouk, head of the Department of Astronomy at the National Institute of Meteorology, a government institution, announced that it was impossible to see the crescent of Ramadan in the five stations spread in the country.
Other Muslim countries also failed to catch a glimpse of the new moon in the month of Ramadan and declared the first day of the holy month to be Thursday, March 23.
Among these countries are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Syria, Sudan, Egypt, Libya and Iraq.
