RIYADH – The Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin on March 11, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations announced, against a backdrop of devastating war in Gaza. Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam’s holiest sites, said through its official SPA news...
Muslim worshippers take part in evening prayers called"Tarawih" during the eve of the first night of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Amr Ibn El-Aas mosque in old Cairo, Egypt.RIYADH – The Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin on March 11, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations announced, against a backdrop of devastating war in Gaza.
In Saudi Arabia, the start of the holy month had been cast into doubt after some of the kingdom’s observatories reported that the moon was obscured by “cloudy weather and dust particles”. It is also a time of prayer, when the faithful converge in large numbers at mosques, especially at night. “Of course, this Ramadan is completely different from all the Ramadans that have gone before it,” said Mr Bassel Yassin, an agricultural engineer.
The war was triggered by the Oct 7 attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel which resulted in about 1,160 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.