Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, CSC vice-president. (Credit: National News Agency)
Vice-Chairman of the Shiite Supreme Council (SSC) Sheikh Ali al-Khatib called on Muslims to "observe the moon that marks the beginning of the month of Ramadan from the evening of Monday, Mar. 11."
He called on all faithful who see the crescent moon to go to the CSC headquarters (on the old airport road in Beirut's southern suburbs) or to call one of the following numbers: 961-1-456701-2-3 / 961-1-457600-800.
Earlier, the office of Shiite dignitary Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah — which relies on calculations rather than empirical observation of the moon as tradition dictates — had already set Monday, Mar. 11 as the first day of the month of Ramadan. This means that the moon would have appeared the day before. He announced this in a statement addressed to Muslims who follow him.
Dar al-Fatwa, the highest Sunni authority in Lebanon, has not yet given a date for the start of the Muslim holy month.
During Ramadan, believers are asked to abstain from drinking, eating, smoking and sexual relations from dawn until sunset. This is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Muslims are also called upon to give alms for the poor, the Zakat al-Fitr. Ramadan ends and Muslims break fast with Eid al-Fitr.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour.