DHAKA: Holy month of Ramadan will begin in Saudi Arabia and other Arab and non-Arab counties on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the Arab peninsula, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar also announced the beginning of Ramadan on the day, reports english.alarabiya.net.

Moreover, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Japan and many other countries around the world declared that the holy month of Ramadan will start on Thursday, June 18.

The government of Yemen, exiled in Saudi Arabia because of war in their homeland, similarly said the holy month would begin Thursday in their country.

The Jordanian religious authorities said Ramadan would begin there on Thursday.

More than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world will mark the month, during which believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.

They also try to avoid evil thoughts and deeds.

Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because tradition says the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Mohammed during that month.

The month is followed by the Eid al-Fitr festival.

BDST: 1152 HRS, JUN 17, 2015
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