The long-awaited date by Muslims is finally known. Ramadan will begin this year on Monday, March 11, as announced by the Great Mosque of Paris.
Between Saturday and Sunday, the night of doubt was held, during which astronomical calculations are made to determine the dates of the fasting month.
“The Great Mosque of Paris sends its best wishes to Muslims. It invites them to experience this month of fasting with piety, solidarity, and harmony with all our fellow citizens,” the statement said.
“We pray to our Lord that this blessed month brings an immediate ceasefire and a just and lasting peace to Gaza,” continued Rector Chems-eddine Hafiz.
During Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, believers are invited to abstain from drinking, eating, smoking, and having sexual relations from dawn (as soon as one can “distinguish a white thread from a black thread” says the Quran) until sunset.
Ramadan is the period during which significant donations are made to mosques and prayer halls (about 2,500 in France). Muslims are invited to give alms to the poor, the zakat al-Fitr.
In a separate statement, several French Muslim federations (GMP, Musulmans de France, Foi et Pratique, the National Council of Imams…) indicated that the “blessed month of Ramadan will be entirely dedicated to the brave Palestinian people, with prayers and collections made on their behalf.”
“We pray to God (…) for an immediate ceasefire and a just and lasting peace in Gaza and to alleviate the suffering and pain of civilian populations victims of bombings and famine,” the Muslim Federations said, gathered at the Great Mosque of Paris on Sunday.
France has between five and six million practicing and non-practicing Muslims, according to several studies on the subject (Pew Research Center, Montaigne Institute, Insee, Ined), making Islam the country’s second religion and the French Muslim community the largest in Europe.
Ramadan will end with Eid al-Fitr, the feast of breaking the fast, around April 9.
