Next week, Ramadan will end for Muslims with the celebration of Eid el-Fitr. However, the date is still uncertain.
Ramadan began on March 11 in France, for millions of Muslims. This month of fasting, one of the most important for believers and which constitutes one of the five pillars of Islam, is coming to an end. One of the closing rituals of the fast is to pay Zakat al Fitr, alms intended for the poorest people, regardless of religious affiliation. It can be given directly or delegated to an association, but it is not intended for the mosque. The CFCM evaluates it at 9 euros per person this year, specifying that everyone can give up to “what they consider to correspond to the conviction and the opinion of the religious institution to which they usually refer”.
The end of Ramadan stricto sensu is traditionally established by the Night of Doubt, which will take place this year on Monday April 8, on the 29th day of fasting, at the Paris mosque. It is this event, organized at the end of the day, which is supposed to confirm the exact date of the end of Ramadan for the approximately 5 million Muslims in France.
During this evening, religious dignitaries will observe the sky to try to see the first crescent moon. If it is visible, then Ramadan will end the next day, April 9. A day of celebration since Ramadan traditionally ends with Eid el Fitr. If the first crescent moon is not observable, you will have to wait until two days later, i.e. April 10, to celebrate Eid.
The French Council of Muslim Faith has announced that it already knows the date of the end of Ramadan thanks to astronomical calculations. He assured that Eid will take place on Wednesday April 10, without hesitation with the day before. The organization explains that the conjunction of the new moon will take place on the evening of April 8, but that its visibility will be impossible on the same day, anywhere in the world. In this case, you will have to wait until nightfall on April 9 to end the fast.
It is very likely that the Grand Mosque of Paris, which organizes the Night of Doubt, agrees with the CFCM’s forecasts to arrive at the same date for Eid el-Fitr. However, if the date of the end of Ramadan celebration is finally set for April 9 during the Night of Doubt, in contradiction with the CFCM’s early announcement, some French Muslims could be surprised and no longer know who to listen to. In France, there is, in fact, no clearly identified Muslim authority since the CFCM is no longer considered by the government as the privileged interlocutor. But its influence nevertheless remains significant in the Muslim community.