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Ramadan Begins this Weekend

The Islamic holy month of Ramadan will begin on Sunday according to the lunar calendar. Ramadan is a time of reflection and fasting from sunrise to sunset for Muslims across the globe. "It has been confirmed to us by credible astronomical methods that the start of the blessed month of Ramadan coincides with Sunday, September 24," Sayyed Mohamed Hussein Fadallah, a cleric in Lebanon said in a statement.

"We call for Islamic unity and the rejection of all calls for difference," the Lebanese cleric continued. There is often disagreement as to when Ramadan begins, due to some Muslim leaders waiting until the sighting of the correct moon phase marks a new Islamic month. Because of this difference in opinion, some Muslims begin the Ramadan fast as many as a few days after some Muslims begin fasting. In Lebanon, where the cleric made his statement, Ramadan is not as vital to everyone`s cultural heritage.

In Lebanon, Muslims live among Christians and Druze, who do not hold themselves to the holy month`s fast. The fast itself is from dawn to dusk, for thirty days. Many Muslims say, during the holiday, that wars cannot be waged against Muslims or between Muslims during this time. However, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria, was launched during Ramadan.