Ramadan may start on March 1, according to Dar al-Fatwa

Dar al-Fatwa, the highest Sunni religious authority, has called on Muslims to observe the crescent moon signaling the start of the month of Ramadan on the evening of Friday, Feb. 28, indicating that if the crescent is sighted, Ramadan will begin on Saturday, March 1 for Sunnis. Mufti Abdellatif Derian will discuss this date with Sunni dignitaries from Arab countries to confirm it, noted Dar al-Fatwa in a statement.

Last week, the office of Shiite dignitary Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah announced that the first day of Ramadan would fall on March 1, in a statement addressed to the followers.

Ramadan corresponds to the ninth lunar month of the Muslim year and celebrates the revelation of the Quran to the prophet Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel. This holy month is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving and pilgrimage. During Ramadan, Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sexual relations from dawn to sunset. The fast is broken each day by the iftar. Ramadan ends with Fitr, the "feast of breaking the fast."