Moon Sighting
According to Ummul-Qura Saudi Arabia, who follow the traditional sighting method, the Moon was not sighted on the eve of Monday July 8th 2013, so Fasting will start on Wednesday July 10th. Since The National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA), hasn't announced anything, I take it they are following suit.
Astronomical calculations
On the other hand the Fiqh Council of North America, have announced Fasting will start on Tuesday July 9th and below is their statement.
There is a real possibility that on coming Monday, July 8, the crescent of Ramadan may not be sighted in the Muslim World especially in Saudi Arabia. The Astronomical New Moon will be born on Monday, July 8, 2013 at 7:14 Universal Time (10:14 a.m. Makkah al-Mukarramah time). Sunset at Makkah on July 8 is at 7:07 p.m., while moonset is at 7:08 p.m. It means that the New Moon will stay in the Makkan horizon just for a minute after the Sunset at Makkah. The stay of just one minute after the Sunset is an extremely short time for the Moon to be seen by a naked human eye. In reality it will be impossible for anybody in Makkah to sight it on the evening of July 8, 2013. Therefore we may not have any report of actual sighting on Monday, July 8 and Saudi authorities may announce Wednesday, July 10 as the first day of Ramadan al-Mubarak. Potentially this can cause a lot of confusion in North America as the Fiqh Council of North America has already announced that Ramadan will commence on Tuesday, July 9. In the past, FCNA’s Ramadan and Eid dates had pretty much coincided with the Saudi announcements. But this year there is a big chance of divergence. The Fiqh Council will stick to its criteria and decision no matter what reports come from abroad. Ramadan in North America will definitely begin on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. Following are some of the reasons for such a decision:
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Don't you just love when they do this to us. The message has been delivered, the rest is up to you.
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