Muslims prepare for holy month of Ramadan, begins Monday

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, June 5 (UPI) -- Muslims around the world are expected to spend a month fasting during daylight hours beginning Monday, on the first sighting of the new moon.

The United Arab Emirates Ramadan Moon Sighting Committee announced Sunday evening the Holy Month of Ramadan in UAE for the Hijri year 1437 will begin Monday, Emirates247.com reported.

Various media reports say the crescent has been sighted in Kuwait, Jordan, Yemen and other Arab countries. Moon sighting committees met about 7 p.m. Sunday in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Vendors in large markets throughout Pakistan are already selling dates, frequently used to break the fast, and lights are strung across streets in Cairo, International Business News reported.

Ramadan's start date changes every year because Islam uses a lunar calendar and the holiday always falls during the calendar's ninth month. Ramadan is marked at this time because scholars believe the Koran was first revealed in the ninth month.

Moon sighting committees are meeting Sunday evening in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to look for the Crescent moon, which determines the exact start date of the holy fasting month. It will likely be on Monday. Lunar months are shorter, which is why the date moves each year by several days.

During the fast, Muslims eschew food and water and spend time in prayer and studying the Quran, Voice of America reported. Muslims are supposed to avoid any indulges or bad habits during the month, including sex and smoking.

Muslims observe this holy time differently, depending on geography and cultural differences. For example, fasting has proved difficult near polar regions where there are longer days of summer.

Fasting during daylight hours is difficult for those living near polar regions and many will actually change locations during Ramadan as a result.

In recent years, some Muslim clerics have begun allowing Muslims in regions where the sun does not set in summer -- or, when Ramadan falls in winter, where the sun does not rise -- to follow the sunrise and sunset times of Mecca.