Muslim religious leaders form team to determine start of Ramadhan

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=891762
• Saturday, June 4, 2016

By Edwin O. Fernandez [(PNA), RMA/NYP/EOF]

COTABATO CITY, June 4 (PNA) -- Muslim religious leaders in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have designated Sunday evening (June 5) as the time for moon sighting to confirm the start of Ramadhan this year, a Muslim cleric said Saturday.

Alim Abdulmuhmin Mujahid, Regional Darul Ifta’ (RDI-ARMM) executive director, said his office had installed Newtonian reflector telescope in each of their five provincial offices in the region and in the Darul Ifta' and Ulama of Zamboanga Peninsula to aid in the moon sighting.

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Hijri calendar where Muslims are obliged to fast from dawn until sunset. It is considered to be the holiest month in Islam.

Mujahid said clerics and focal persons had been assigned for moon sighting in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and were in close coordination with associates in the neighboring countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand and Singapore.

Mujahid said once the crescent moon is sighted tomorrow night, the month of fasting officially starts.

He said they wanted to resolve the usual disagreement among Muslims in different parts of the country regarding the start and end of Ramadan.

The RDI-ARMM had earlier organized a convention of Muslim leaders, scholars, and legal experts and representatives of Muslim organizations across the country in May 24 in Zamboanga City to discuss matters about Ramadan.

Mujahid said Ramadan is a "revival of faith, strengthening of relationship with Allah, and of respect and generosity.”

"Ramadan presents us a meaningful message. This revives our imaan (Islamic faith), strengthens our relationship with Allah, and restores broken ties with our relatives," he said, adding it is the "time to reflect upon our deeds in the past months, and a time to ask forgiveness.”

The RDI-ARMM has distributed a calendar that indicates prayer time this Ramadan in each of the ARMM provinces.

"The Ramadan prayer time calendar was calculated accurately per municipality based on the formula given to us by the PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration)," Mujahid said.

Meanwhile, the ARMM is organizing a series of month-long activities to highlight the observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan in the region.

The activities, which will be held in the region's seat in Cotabato City and in the provinces, include provincial and regional Qur'an memorization contest, Islamic symposia, cultural presentation, free Iftar (fast-breaking), and nightly events sponsored by different ARMM line agencies.

A Ramadan Fair, considered the most popular annual multi-product consumer exhibition in the region, will also open on June 06 at the ARMM compound in Cotabato City.

In 2015, 40 food exhibitors and 20 non-food exhibitors showcased some of the best goods and products from the five provinces.