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Yes, the start should be on the 15/16, depending on when the moon is first spotted (I believe the official spotting occurs in Saudi Arabia).

The Islamic Calendar has it starting the 16th:
http://moonsighting.com/1425.html

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Science 'eclipsing moon watch'
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=93898&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=27207

A DEBATE is raging over which day Ramadan should officially start this year.

Traditional Islamic scholars say the Muslim Holy Month, which is based on the lunar calendar, should start with a confirmed sighting of the new moon.

Sharia judges will sit from today to wait for the first sighting, which could occur tonight.

If that is confirmed and supported by sightings elsewhere Ramadan will start tomorrow.

However, astronomers argue that the first sighting of the new moon can only happen tomorrow night, which means Ramadan should start on Friday.

This is based on scientific calculations that plot the course of the moon and even pinpoint its exact location in the sky.

They argue any moon sightings tonight will be misleading because people will not be seeing the new moon, but a last glimpse of the moon from the previous lunar month - known in Arabic as Sha'aban.

This argument is based on criteria set at the Eighth Meeting of the Unified Hijiri Calendar, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in November 1998.

Recommendations from that meeting stated that Ramadan should only start when the sun, earth and moon are in one line. This is known as a conjunction, or the "birth" of the new moon and must occur before sunset.

It also stated that the moon should set after the sun.

In addition, the above calculations should be based on the latitude and longitude of Mecca.

Supporters of this theory say those requirements will only be met tomorrow night and not today.

"Yesterday the Islamic courts said they will sit today," said Bahrain University Professor of Physics Dr Waheeb Essa Alnaser.

"This is a bit strange for us. That is the controversy.

"Astronomers ask how can that be if you can't see the new moon? It hasn't been born yet.

"This is the problem. It will only be born tomorrow night."

According to Dr Alnaser, the new moon should be visible in Bahrain to people with very good eyesight tomorrow between 5.10pm and 5.26pm.

Muslims are supposed to fast the day after the first sighting, which in that case would be Friday.

Dr Alnaser says anyone fasting tomorrow will be doing so a day too early.

"How can you fast on the day of the new moon? Usually we fast after the birth of the moon," he said.

"No calendar at all says the new lunar month starts tomorrow. All the calendars, whether Jewish or Chinese, say it starts on Friday.

"If Ramadan starts tomorrow, the implications are that we have a wrong lunar month."

He predicts that could have implications for the hijiri calendar because it will be thrown off track.

However, problems exist because the recommendations of the meeting in 1998 have not been implemented by all countries.

Meanwhile, some of those that have done so also take into account two additional conditions, which means Ramadan in those countries may not start until Saturday.

"Some countries may fast tomorrow, some on Friday and some on Saturday," said Dr Alnaser.

"Some, such as Jordan, use science and astronomy - but they add more conditions.

"They say the new moon must be sighted for a minimum of 20 minutes and should be within eight degrees to the right or left of the sun.

"This condition will be met on Friday night, which means Saturday will be the first day of Ramadan.

"There will be a conflict. The same thing happened five or six years ago when there was a difference of four days between some countries.

"Nigeria started Ramadan on Monday, Egypt on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and Iran on Thursday."

Dr Alnaser would like to see all Muslim countries adopt the 1998 recommendations, which were made by an official committee of Sharia scholars and astronomers.

"How do we solve it? Astronomy gives us the calculation and there is no mistake," said Dr Alnaser.

"But the Muslim school relies on sight.

"At least we should adhere to the recommendations of the meeting in 1998, which was highly official.

"In the old days it was different. Any Bedouin could go to Prophet Mohammed and say they saw the moon.

"Once that happened they would declare Ramadan.

"There is a lot of debate about whether they should take astronomical calculations or do it the primitive way.

"Muslim countries in East Asia such as Indonesia and Malaysia use the scientific calculations as recommended in 1998.

"They know when Ramadan and Eid will be. Things are going very smooth. There is no fuss.

"But here we depend on the Islamic school, which means people can't do things like plan a flight if they don't know when Ramadan will start."

However, traditionalists dismiss such theories and are adamant that the first day of Ramadan should depend on the actual sighting of the moon.

They say this should take place on the 29th or 30th of Sha'aban, which is today and tomorrow.

If it is not seen tonight Ramadan will automatically start on Friday anyway.

"It depends on the sighting of the moon," said Farahat Al Kindy, senior preacher at the Al Fateh Grand Mosque.

"Anyone that sees the moon can contact a special committee set up by the Islamic Affairs Ministry.

"If they get one or two calls it is official. As long as they are trusted and respected members of the community."

South Nigeria Fasts Friday, North Awaits Moon Sighting
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2004-10/13/article06.shtml

LAGOS, October 13 (IslamOnline.net) – Muslims in south Nigeria will start the holy fasting month of Ramadan Friday, October 15, according to astrological calculations while their fellow Muslims in the north insist to start fasting only after the sighting of the new moon.

The League of the Yorubaland's Scholars and Imams, the highest Islamic authority in south Nigeria, announced that Friday will mark the beginning of Ramadan.

In a statement following the meeting of its members, the league said they all agreed to follow the astrological calculations which concluded that the first day of fasting will fall Friday.

The body appealed to all Muslims in the region to start observing the dust-to-dawn fasting on that day.

Moon Sighting

However, the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) said it will, as always, only accept the sighting of the new moon.

“The Fatwa Committee will convene later Wednesday, October 13, on the sighting of Ramadan crescent,” NSCIA Secretary General Dr. Abdul Lateef Adegbite told IslamOnline.net.

He said the council published a list with the names and phone numbers of 47 Muslim leaders who can be reached by any person who sights the crescent.

“In case the new moon was seen, the committee would immediately announce that Thursday, October 14, is the first day of Ramadan and Tarawih prayers will be performed later Wednesday.

“If not then Thursday will be the last day of Sha`ban and we will start fasting as of Friday,” Adegbite said.

He added that the NSCIA always depends on the sighting of the crescent in determining the beginning and end of the holy fasting month, admitting that not all Nigerian scholars are on board.

Adegbite said Muslim leaders and NSCIA members “particularly in the northern parts of the country do not favor astrological calculations or welcome calls to depend on them.”

Contention

He admitted, however, that the inability to agree on the start of Ramadan remains a point of contention in Nigeria.

Adegbite said the NSCIA has been “exerting painstaking efforts for a compromise between the different viewpoints through brain-storming sessions.”

He added that such differences are a cause of embarrassment in a country such as Nigeria where “Islam and Muslims are facing enemies.”

Muslims make up around 50 percent of Nigeria’s more than 137 million population, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Forty percent of Nigerians believe in Christianity. The state does not recognize atheism, who make up the remaining 10 percent of the population.

Observers blame the inability to agree on the start of Ramadan on the absence of the state’s support for the religious authority, the ministry of Islamic affairs.

Nigerian authorities usually depend on the NSCIA’s decisions and statements in making decisions about Muslim-related days off.

A source at the Council of Muftis of Russia told IOL that Russian Muslims will start the fasting Friday.

According to astrological calculations, Ramadan will also start Friday in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.