Ramadan Mubarak, 1433

Ramadan began in Dubai on Thursday night shortly after sunset.

I was warned that Ramadan would be 'different' my first year in the UAE. Since I read a bit, I was surprised that I'd never heard of Ramadan before coming here. Also, I'd known many Muslims, but,  since they were travelling, they were not obligated to observe Ramadan, and none of them ever mentioned it.

What I was told was that it started whenever the government wanted it to start, and that the start was completely unpredictable. This, like much of what I 'knew' about the Middle East before coming, and like most of what the Westerners told me after I arrived, was not altogether accurate

Islam requires that, on the 29^th of every Islamic month, and only on the 29^th of the Islamic month, the moonsighting committee must go out and look for a crescent moon. If they see it, it's the first of the next Islamic month; if they don't, it's the 30^th of the same Islamic month. So, once the moonsighting committee determines when the month before Ramadan–i.e., Shaaban–starts (which varies between moonsighting committees, but there is only one moonsighting committee for the UAE), they must go out on the  29^thof Shaaban (which was Thursday, the 19^th of July, this year) and Ramadan must start either the next day or the day after that.

As it happened, the moonsighting committee saw the crescent, so, as soon as they saw it, it was the month of Ramadan.

In short, there were only two possibilities for the 1^st of Ramadan this year, just as there are always two possibilities every year. This year, Ramadan could only have started at sunset on Thursday, 19^th July or at sunset Friday, 20^th of July.

Muslims will fast and pray and give zakat for the next month. Fasting means no food or water or smoking beginning 90 minutes before sunrise and lasting until sunset. The entire Noble Koran will be read in every mosque during the month. Zakat is similar to Christian tithing, and means giving to the poor. There will be many religious activities during the month.

And I wish everyone a Ramadan Mubarak, which means a Blessed Ramadan.