Ramadan in Bangsamoro to start on Tuesday

Ramadan in Bangsamoro, an autonomous region in southern Philippines, will begin from Tuesday, the government has announced.

Sheikh Abu Huraira Udasan, the region's grand mufti (chief cleric) and executive director of Darul-Ifta'-an institution of Islamic jurisprudence-told a news briefing after the annual moon sighting activity on Sunday.

"... the first day of fasting for the Holy Month of Ramadhan will be on Tuesday, April 13, 2021," an official statement read.

Bangsamoro is home to nearly five million people, most of whom are Muslims.

Each year, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic Hijri calendar, starts roughly 10 days earlier because the lunar year is shorter than the solar year. Muslims in the holy month abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk.