In the Name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful

To all Believers in North America,

Peace and blessings upon you,

While the possibilities of the New Crescent sightings based on astronomical data were weak, we were in fact able to confirm the sighting of the New Crescent of the Holy Month of Ramadan, 1429 in the city of Detroit at sunset on Sunday August 31st, 2008 based on the religious standard of sighting with the naked eye. As such, tomorrow Monday September 1st, 2008 is the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadan in North America based upon the principles of his Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sistani and the Late Grand Ayatollah Sayyid al-Khoei.

May Allah make it a blessed Month.

The Crescent Committee:
• Syed Muhammad Rizvi, Toronto.
• Sheikh Fadhel Al-Sahlani, New York.
• Syed Rafiq Naqvi, Washington D.C.
• Syed Mahboob Mehdi Abidi, Chicago.
• Sayyid M. B. Kashmiri.