Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, announced it would start the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Saturday.
“Tomorrow, Saturday will be the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan,” the kingdom said Friday, in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
Four other Arab countries of the Gulf, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, have also announced the Saturday start of Ramadan, while Oman said it is expected to begin a day later.
The starting date of the dawn-dusk fasting month of Ramadan is determined by both lunar calculations and physical sightings of a new moon.
Ramadan is a holy month for the world’s more than 1.5 billion Muslims.
