The month of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and sharing for Muslims, will begin Thursday in France, announced Tuesday, March 21, the Grand Mosque of Paris (GMP).

Its rector Chems-eddine Hafiz confirmed this date, in a statement published on Twitter, at the end of a meeting called "Night of Doubt", intended to solemnly fix the beginning of this fast, taking into account both the method of scientific calculation and lunar observation.

"After consulting scientific calculations, universal astronomical data, and observations of the moon, the commission (GMP religious) determined the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan in France (... ) to Thursday, March 23," the GMP said.

The national Muslim federations gathered at the Great Mosque of Paris for the #NuitduDoute announce, in a joint statement, that the beginning of the blessed month of #Ramadan 2023-1444/H in France is set for Thursday, March 23, 2023 Inch'Allah: pic.twitter.com/aTNo4MHQw9

— Great Mosque of Paris (@mosqueedeparis) March 21, 2023

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) – of which the GMP is no longer a member – a supporter of the method of scientific calculation, had announced the date of Thursday for several weeks.

During Ramadan, one of the pillars of Islam, believers are invited to abstain from drinking, eating, smoking and having sex from dawn (as soon as one can "distinguish a white thread from a black thread" says the Koran) until sunset.

Muslims called to donate

Ramadan is the time when large donations are made to mosques and prayer halls (about 2,500 in France). Muslims are invited to pay alms for the poor, zakat al-Fitr. It was valued this year at seven euros per person, said the CFCM in a previous statement.

In particular, he called on Muslim worshippers to join humanitarian and charitable organizations "operating in our country and around the world, especially in the regions affected by the latest earthquakes in Turkey and Syria."

The France has between five and six million practicing and non-practicing Muslims, according to several studies on the subject (Pew Research Center, Institut Montaigne, INSEE, INED), which makes Islam the second religion in the country and the French Muslim community the first in Europe.

Fasting is prescribed for pubescent Muslims, but exemptions are provided for travelers, the sick, the elderly, pregnant women or women who have just given birth. Compensation is possible for people prevented or exempted (fasting carried out later, donations to the needy ...).

Ramadan will end with Eid al-Fitr, the festival of breaking the fast, which should take place on April 21 according to proponents of scientific calculation.

With AFP

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