Algerians Set To Fast Over 17 Hours During 2016 Holy Month of Ramadhan

A growing hubbub is again the order of the day in Algeria regarding the exact timing of the dawn Prayer and the breaking of the fast in the evening on the eve of the holy month of Ramadhan 2016.

A host of people have called for a revision of the currently used timetable, particularly as regards the timing of the dawn prayer set for half hour earlier than the normally prescribed timing contrary to astronomy data.

 If the current timing of the early morning prayer isn’t reviewed, they argued, then it would result in the start of the fasting or “imsek” entering the official time that will thus increase the hours of daily fasting, exceeding this year 17 hours.

In this connection, the Algerian specialist in astronomy and geophysics, Dr. Loth Bonatiro, told media outlets that the Algerians would witness a longer Ramadan this year, with on focus June 21, which is the longest day in the year, but the number of hours of fasting will be different from the beginning of the month of fasting to the end.

He surmised that the first day of fasting slated probably for June 6, 2016 will last for a period of 17 hours and 46 minutes. For the longest day in the year, which will be by the end of the month of Ramadan, fasting will last for 17 hours and 53 minutes. The last day, on the 30th of Ramadhan, the fasting hours will witness a decline of down to 17 hours and 47 minutes, he explained.

Dr. Loth Bonatiro added according to precise data the Algerians fasted longer than the legal time required by more than 40 minutes.

This timing-related confusion concerning the timing of early morning prayer or “Fedjr” and the “Dhor” or noon prayers has existed since independence and the Ministry of Religious Affairs is well aware of it but has so far refused to remedy the situation and to hark back to unanimously-endorsed timings under the pretext of security situation concerns notably over the past years.