The first day of Ramadan will be Thursday May 17 in Oman, the country's Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs has announced. The Authority tweeted a copy of the stamped statement saying the moon sighting committee would begin searching for the crescent moon on the evening of Tuesday May 8 but said the new moon would unlikely be spotted that night. The statement said Wednesday May 9 will be the 30th day of Shaaban, 1439, in the Hijri calendar, making Thursday May 17 the first day of the holy month. Historically, Oman's religious authority will call Ramadan independently of the rest of the Gulf while the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia tend to begin fasting on the same day. In March, the Sharjah Centre for Space and Astronomy predicted that Ramadan would likely begin on May 15 but an official announcement will be made by the moon sighting committee closer to the time. <strong>_____________</strong> <strong>Read more:</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/government-employees-praise-uae-rulers-for-ramadan-salary-bonus-1.727764">Government employees praise UAE Rulers for Ramadan salary bonus</a></strong> <strong><a href="https://www.thenational.ae/ramadan-predicted-to-start-on-may-15-1.712340">Ramadan predicted to start on May 15</a></strong> <strong><a href="https://www.thenational.ae/uae/ramadan-faqs-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-holy-month-in-the-uae-1.65949">Ramadan FAQs: Everything you need to know about the holy month in the UAE</a></strong>