Syria's Two Ramadans: Regime Starts a Day Later Than Opposition

Syria's opposition rebels, like most Sunni Muslims in the Arab world, took their moon sighting from Saudi Arabia and started Ramadan last Friday. The Asad regime, however, and the official state religious establishment, followed the lead of Iran and declared Saturday the first day of Ramadan. There are usually a few countries that disagree on the exact start date, but usually one authority decides for the whole country, and rarely is the difference a microcosm of Middle Eastern geopolitics.