JEDDAH — Every year, Muslims around the world wait for the announcement of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan with anticipation. The month begins with the sighting of the new moon. Speculations are rife this year too with some astronomers saying it is impossible to see the Ramadan crescent before Thursday and the holy month will begin Friday and others saying it will be Saturday. So far, nothing is clear except the heated debate between astronomers who rely on mathematical calculations and those who would stick to the age-old tradition of sighting the crescent with the naked eye. Last year, some astronomers claimed the Eid Al-Fitr was celebrated on the wrong day and Saudi religious scholars made a mistake while fixing the date. The fasting month of Ramadan comes to an end with the sighting of the Shawwal crescent in the horizon with the naked eye. Under the Shariah, if the new crescent was seen by any trustworthy person supported by two witnesses his testimony would be documented and the whole nation would accept that testimony. The majority of Muslims all over the world still stick to the tradition of looking to the sky to start their fasting and ending it despite the availability of advanced technology to precisely determine the birth of the new moon. With Ramadan less than a week away, people eagerly await the announcement and local newspapers have started publishing views of experts and astronomers on the beginning of the holy month. Abdul Aziz Al-Shammari, a scholar and astronomer, stated the obvious when he told a local newspaper that the first day of Ramadan would be either Friday or Saturday. On the other hand, Hassan Basrah, head of the Astronomy Department at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz University, has claimed that sighting the Ramadan crescent would be impossible Thursday with the naked eye and the fasting month would not start until Saturday. According to the Islamic Crescents' Observation
