BAKU – Religious authorities in Azerbaijan have issued a statement saying that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will be anticipated on June 7.

“I congratulate Muslim brothers and sisters on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. May Allah accept our fasting and prayers! Amen,” said the fatwa announced by the Gazi Council and the Scientific-Religious Council of the Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO), News.az reported.

The date was announced following a meeting of the Board of Cadis of the Caucasian Muslims Office on May 26.

According to the fatwa issued after the meeting, this year the first day of the month of Ramadan will fall on June 7, while taraweeh prayer will be committed on July 6.

The calculations were conducted by the Shamakhi-based Tusi Astrophysical Observatory of the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences (ANAS).

According to the fatwa, `Eid al-Fitr will fall on the 1st of Shawwal, the 6th of July.

In Europe, the holy fasting month is expected on Monday, June 6, according to astronomical calculations announced by the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR).

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) said that Ramadan would begin on Monday, June 6, in North America.

Ramadan is the holiest month in Islamic calendar.

Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint and good deeds.

It is customary for Muslims to spend part of the days during Ramadan studying the Noble Qur’an.

Many men perform i`tikaf (spiritual retreat), spending the last 10 days of the month exclusively in the mosque.

The first day of Ramadan and moon sighting have always been a controversial issue among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem at odds over the issue.

While one group of scholars sees that Muslims in other regions and countries are to follow the same moon sighting as long as these countries share one part of the night, another states that Muslims everywhere should abide by the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.

A third, however, disputes both views, arguing that the authority in charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a given country announces the sighting of the new moon, then Muslims in the country should all abide by this.

This usually causes confusion among Muslims, particularly in the West, on observing the dawn-to-dusk fasting and celebrating the `Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting.

Muslims, mostly Shiite, make up more than 93 percent of the former Soviet republic’s population of 8.3 million people.

The rest of the population adheres to other faiths or are non-religious.

Like much of the ex-Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has witnessed a limited religious revival since independence in 1991.