Ramadan will begin Thursday March 23 in France

The date is confirmed. Ramadan, the month of fasting, prayers and sharing for Muslims, will begin on Thursday March 23 in France, the Grand Mosque of Paris (GMP) announced on Tuesday. A date that had been disclosed by the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM), of which the GMP is no longer a part, several weeks ago. Ramadan will then end with Eid al-Fitr, the feast of breaking the fast, which should take place on April 21, according to proponents of scientific calculation.

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The rector of the GMP, Chems-eddine Hafiz, confirmed this date, in a press release published on Twitter, at the end of a meeting called “Night of doubt”, intended to solemnly set the start of this religious rite. , taking into account both the method of scientific calculation and lunar observation.

During Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, believers are asked to abstain from drinking, eating, smoking and having sex, from dawn until sunset.

Ramadan is also the period when large donations are made to mosques and prayer rooms (about 2,500 in France). Muslims are invited to pay alms for the poor, the zakât el-Fitr. In particular, the CFCM called on the Muslim faithful to join forces with humanitarian and charitable organizations “operating in our country and all over the world, especially in the regions affected by the latest earthquakes in Turkey and Syria”.