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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, will begin on Thursday in Jordan, Chief Islamic Justice Ahmad Hilayel announced on Tuesday.

Hilayel said the crescent moon (hilal) was not spotted in Jordan on Tuesday, which makes Thursday the first day of the holy month.

In Islam, to determine the start of Ramadan, people look for the crescent and those who sight the new moon report to the Sharia court to testify.

According to tradition, it is the sighting with the naked eye of the new moon that signals the start of Ramadan.

During Ramadan, Muslim believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.

Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because it is during that month that tradition says the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.

The fast is one of the five main religious obligations under Islam