Ramadan begins for hundreds of millions of Muslims in the shadow of the war in the Gaza Strip

Saudi Arabia said on Sunday through its official SPA news agency that the kingdom’s Supreme Court had declared “Monday, March 11, 2024, the start of this year’s blessed month of Ramadan.”

Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Following the appearance of the new moon, which marks the start of Ramadan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced on their official news services that the holy month of prayers and fasting begins on Monday.

Egypt’s Muslim advisory body, Dar al-Ifta, has confirmed that it is declaring the start of Ramadan on Monday, as is the case in the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip.

Iran marked the start of Ramadan earlier on Tuesday after its Estehlal moon observatory reported that it failed to spot a new moon.

But in Saudi Arabia, the start of the holy month has been thrown into doubt, as some observatories in the kingdom said the moon was obscured by “cloudy air and dust particles”.

However, the final decision is based on data from the Al Majma University Astronomy Observatory in Riyadh.

Jordan, Oman and Libya will observe the first day of Ramadan on Tuesday.