The date long awaited by Muslims is finally known.
The month of Ramadan will begin this year on Monday March 11, the Grand Mosque of Paris announced this Sunday.
“After consulting astronomical data and observations of the moon, the commission determined the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan (…) in France as: Monday March 11, 2024,” we can read in the press release from the institution religious.
𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄́ |
The Grand Mosque of Paris announces that the start of the blessed month of #Ramadan 2024-1445/H in France will be MONDAY MARCH 11, 2024 Inch'Allah: pic.twitter.com/M7WYWQrfx3
— Great Mosque of Paris (@mosqueedeparis) March 10, 2024
Between Saturday and Sunday the night of doubt is held, during which astronomical calculations are carried out to determine the dates of the month of fasting.
“The Grand Mosque of Paris extends its best wishes to Muslims.
She invites them to live this month of fasting in piety, solidarity and harmony with all our fellow citizens,” the press release said.
“We pray to our Lord that this blessed month brings an immediate ceasefire and a just and lasting peace to Gaza,” continues the rector, Chems-eddine Hafiz.
Also read Ramadan 2024: what are the rules to follow and the prohibitions during fasting?
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 when large donations are made to mosques and prayer rooms (around 2,500 in France).
Muslims are invited to pay alms for the poor, zakât el-Fitr.
End of Ramadan around April 9
In a separate press release, several French Muslim federations (GMP, Muslims of France, Faith and Practice, the National Council of Imams, etc.) indicated that the “blessed month of Ramadan will be entirely dedicated to the valiant Palestinian people, with prayers and collections. carried out in his favor.
“We pray to God (…) for an immediate ceasefire and a just and lasting peace in Gaza and to relieve the suffering and pain of the civilian populations victims of bombings and famine,” indicate the Muslim Federations, gathered at the Mosque from 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, Institut Montaigne, Insee, INED), which makes Islam the second religion in the country and the French Muslim community, the first in Europe.
Ramadan will end with Eid-el-Fitr, the celebration of breaking the fast, around April 9.