Ramadan: Saudi Arabia announces start of fasting

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will start on Tuesday.

“Tomorrow, Tuesday is the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan this year,” the kingdom’s supreme court said in a statement.

Other Muslim countries, including Sunni-majority Egypt and Lebanon, have also confirmed that Tuesday marks the start of Ramadan.

Shiite-majority countries like Iran are expected to start one day later.

Muslims are expected to refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, before gathering with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.

However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many Muslim-majority countries have imposed restrictions on worshippers, including night-time curfews and called for prayers to be performed at home.