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First day of Ramadan will be Wednesday, August 11, 2010
and Eid ul-Fitr on Friday, September 10, 2010, insha’Allah.
“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self-restraint.” Qur’an 2:183
The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) recognize astronomical calculation as an acceptable Shar’ia method for determining the beginning of lunar months including the months of Ramadan and Shawwal. The FCNA & ECFR use Makkah al-Mukarramah as a conventional point, and take the position that the conjunction must take place before sunset in Makkah and the moon must set after sunset in Makkah.
On the basis of this method the dates of Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr for the year 1431 AH are established as follows:
- 1st of Ramadan will be on Wednesday, August 11, 2010
- 1st of Shawwal, which marks the start of Eid ul-Fitr, will be on Friday, September 10, 2010.
Ramadan 1431 AH:
The Astronomical New Moon is on August 10, 2010 (Tuesday) at 11:08 am Makkah Time. Sunset in Makkah on August 10 is at 6:55 pm. On that day, the Topocentric Altitude of the moon in Makkah at sunset is 1.6 degrees. Therefore, the first day of Ramadan is on August 11, 2010 (Wednesday), making the first Tarawih prayer to be on the night of Tuesday August 10, 2010.
Eid ul-Fitr 1431 AH:
The Astronomical New Moon is on September 8, 2010 (Wednesday) at 6:30 pm Makkah Time. Sunset in Makkah on September 8 is at 6:31 pm. On that day, the moon in Makkah at sunset is below the horizon. Therefore, the first day of Shawwal, which marks the start of Eid ul-Fitr is on Friday, September 10, 2010, insha’Allah.
May Allah (swt) keep us on the right path, and accept our fasting and prayers. Ameen. For more detailed information, please visit: www.fiqhcouncil.org or www.moonsighting.com
Sincerely,
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi
Chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America
Numbering an estimated 600,000, Muslims now represent one of the fastest growing religious communities in New York City. Through decades of immigration and conversion, Muslim New Yorkers constitute a vibrant mosaic of ethnic, racial, sectarian and socioeconomic diversity. Like other minority groups, however, Muslims also face a host of social, economic, and political challenges. To date, very little research exists about this important population. To fill this need, Columbia University’s Middle East Institute, with generous support from the Ford Foundation, initiated the Muslims in New York City Project. Its goal is to explore in an interdisciplinary fashion questions of identity, social and cultural accommodation, economic participation and political engagement as they relate to Muslims’ individual and collective experiences in the complex realities of life in New York City.
American Muslims trace their ancestry to more than 80 countries. America.gov explores the richness of these traditions through the lens of Ramadan.
Diversity in the United States extends along many dimensions, including religion. American Muslims are estimated to number between six and seven million. Within that population are individuals of all races and ethnic backgrounds, reflecting the tremendous diversity of the followers of Islam.
Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, varies in belief, style, and practice from one nation or region to another and among subgroups within nation and regions. Yet the majority of U.S. citizens have a simplistic, one-dimensional view of Islam and its followers.
In this lesson, students explore some of the religious and cultural variations within Islam, as well as the relation of Muslims to members of other religious groups. There are five videos for this lesson. A segment on the influx of Somali Muslims into a town in Maine highlights the tensions that can occur when a group of Muslim immigrants settles in a community unfamiliar with Islam. Other videos look at the relation of African-American Muslims to Muslims who immigrate from Asia and Africa; and similarities between Islamic Halal and Jewish Kosher traditions.
Huge numbers of Americans profess to having little knowledge of Islam despite the fact that there may be as many as five million Muslims living in the U.S. ChangeTheStory.net offers an interactive experience where users—Muslim and non-Muslim alike—can meet their neighbors, learn about Islam and apply techniques of interfaith dialogue and action to local communities. Our primary audiences are educators, religious leaders and individuals concerned about building bridges of understanding across lines of faith and culture.
The purpose of this lesson is to encourage students to examine the issue of tolerance in our culture. The students will view the film Turbans, which focuses on a Sikh family’s immigration to Oregon in the early 1900s. They will relate the issues in the film to problems facing Sikh, Arab and Muslim populations living in the United States in the post-September 11 environment.
http://uw.kqed.org/edresources/plans/mosaic-asianam2-lp01.pdf
Calligraphy of Thought is an East Bay Muslim poetry collective whose members transpose the beauty of expression into spoken word, celebrating what it means to be Muslim. Through its various performance forms, Calligraphy of Thought has rekindled the vital link between Islam and poetry while providing a forum for young artists to voice their opinions and ambitions.
http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=4246
Islamic Unit Studies 