Reliable astronomical data from HM Nautical Almanac Office and Crescentwatch.org indicate that on 5th June a naked-eye (unaided) sighting of the new crescent moon will be not be possible in Europe or in many regions except perhaps in South America. Hence, the correct date for the UK and Europe for the 1st of Ramadan will be the 7th June, beginning at dusk on Monday, 6th June 2016.
The first day of fasting will be on Tuesday, 7th June in the United Kingdom, Europe, and for most regions outside South America.
http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/moonwatch/nextnewmoon.html
http://www.crescentwatch.org/cgi-bin/cw.cgi
We are advising people to take care when fasting this year, as the days are extraordinarily long in the United Kingdom this time of the year, lasting 19 hours from before dawn until after dusk… This is far longer than anyone fasts in Mecca and Medina, including Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his companions 14 centuries ago…
We advise people take their health into account. If anyone feels able to fast throughout these extended daylight hours, and can comfortably do so without any negative consequences to their health, we do not wish to discourage or prevent you from doing so… However, it must be acknowledged that many Muslims living in northern latitudes, including here in the UK, will struggle to keep such extended fasts for the full month without harm to their health and wellbeing.
For this reason, we strongly advise people to take care of themselves, and not put their health at unnecessary risk during the holy month of Ramadan. This advice is especially important for pregnant women, children and people with health conditions to take into account…
Fatwa On Fasting In Ramadan In The UK During Summer:
http://www.aobm.org/fatwa-on-fasting-in-ramadan-in-the-uk-during-summer/
Fatwa from Dar al-Ifta al Misriyyah; Number: 2806
http://ccmw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Fatwa-from-Dar-Al-Iftah-Mesir-ENGLISH.pdf
Paul Salahuddin Armstrong 
How do you respond to the recent call by ISIS for violence?
ISIS are terrorists and must be resisted and destroyed, they are the biggest enemies of Islam and Muslims.
I agree they must be stopped. Many of your imams still disagree though.
Not my imams… Any who support terrorism are unfit to be imams!
Did you know that there are 27 confirmed Islamic honor killings a year in the USA?
“Honour killings” are misnamed, there is no honour in murder. The crime is completely unislamic, the murderers are criminals according to Islam. The behaviour is rooted in deeply patriarchal and outmoded cultures, it hasn’t nothing to do with Islam. We find so-called “honour killings” committed by people affiliated with all religions hailing from the same regions where the killings take place. Whereas Muslim communities around the world see such killings for what they are, cold-blooded murder, and completely shun them and those who commit them. To associate “honour killings” with Islam, is no different to associating Nazism with Christianity; many Nazis may have been Christians, but that certainly doesn’t mean Nazism is Christian!
Paul,
The difference is that the Quran does call for killing those who “make mischief ” and “apostates”.
There are an average of 27 honor killings a year in the USA according to the FBI and DOJ. Many more are unconfirmed because the families of the victims will not speak.
The Bible actually contains far more horrific verses than any contained in the Quran. I disagree with this accusation too… The Quran doesn’t advocate killing apostates. I am aware of the verse to which you are referring, but if you understood the context, you would realise this is actually referring to spies and traitors in Madinah. The verse is not referring to apostasy as we understand it today. “Making mischief in the land” refers to warmongers, bandits, highwayman, people who pick on the innocent and commit appalling crimes against humanity, people such as ISIS and Al Qaeda. Yes, we have a responsibility to fight and discourage people like them.
Paul,
Please consider reading “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus ” by Nabeel Qureshi. He descended from the same tribe as Muhammad, was raised a devout Muslim, and during medical school, converted to Christianity.
As for your assumption that the Bible contains “far worse scriptures than the Quran? I can produce Quran verses to compare to Bible verses you produce, if you wish? Then we can compare. I can produce hadith that support my claims , so as to reduce effect of our own opinions?
With the greatest of respect, I am from a Christian background… Due to my research over the years I understand Christianity better than most Christians I know, and I respect it as a religious tradition. Ultimately, the reason I am a Muslim and not a Christian is due to my understanding of theology. If I believed Jesus, peace be upon him, is the literal Son of God and part of a Holy Trinity, I would be a Christian. I don’t share these doctrines. I love and respect Jesus, and in so many respects implement his teachings in my daily life, as indeed many Muslims do. For Muslims, Jesus is a Prophet of God and the Messiah, he is immensely important and special to us. Regarding this, and your other question regarding Bible verses, we could have many conversations. If you were genuinely interested in deepening your understanding of Islam and Christianity, I might even be up for this; though not sure this is the best place to have such discussions… However, if you are only interested in pointing out dodgy hadith (which I realise do exist), demeaning Islam, and trying to convert me, we would both be wasting our time.
The Trinity then?
The term “trinity” was obviously meant to help clarify a more difficult concept concerning three aspects of God’s nature.
1. He is Spirit- and His Spirit is everywhere at the same time and never only in a single place.
2. This includes His throne in Heaven and the entire universe and beyond. He is God the Father.
3. God also came down to us as one of us, as a ,”Son of Man”, “The Son of Man”. God overshadowed the Virgin Mary by His Spirit to create a body to occupy, live and grow up in with the same challenges we all face, yet He never sinned at all, not once. He was by human standards the Son of God. His own Spirit in a body He created for Himself, God who is everywhere at once all the time.
4. We stumble at this point in part because we judge these three constant forms of the same Being by human standards. We say it is impossible to do what I have just explained. Yes it is, FOR US! But God can do anything.
The Trinity is Christian doctrine, I never subscribed to the belief, and indeed there are even some Christian groups, past and present, who don’t subscribe to the doctrine. Though I realise this is part of normative Christianity, and not suggesting otherwise. Muslims; like Jews, Sikhs, and Unitarians, believe in the Oneness and Unity of God.
But so do Christians!
God The Father is God AND Jesus Christ the Son is also God, AND God the Spirit. These three are personages of the same being.
You are Paul. You are also a son. You are also a human being. The concept of the Trinity is no different.
Three personages same being.
I understand the concept of the Trinity, probably better than many Christians. However, this is not how I see God, nor do I see evidence for this doctrine in the Bible. I have read various verses Christians have brought to my attention over the years, that they believe back up the idea. But when I have analysed the verses, there are stronger reasons to interpret them differently to how they’ve been presented by Christians.
At the end of the day, the Trinity is a doctrine believed by Christians, it is not a fact that can be corroborated with evidence, but rather a belief. It may be true, I’ll give this the benefit of doubt, but that cannot be proven and there are good philosophical and theological reasons for questioning it.
Do you mind sharing one example?
Perhaps your strongest one?
Elohim in the Old Testament is a plural. Christian scholars have seen this as evidence for supporting the Trinity. However, the concept of the Trinity only entered into Christianity thousands of years later. The Old Testament is the Tanakh, it’s actually the Bible of another religion – Judaism; though the books were reordered by the Church and are found in a different order than in the Jewish Tanakh. Judaism is a strictly monotheistic religion without the Christian concept of the Trinity. Elohim is understood to be a respectful plural, that is the word has been pluralised due to Majesty of God, it is a singular plural. However, there are also biblical scholars who point out Elohim predates monotheism in Israel, and could in fact be a reference to “the gods” but was reinterpreted by later Hebrew and Jewish Rabbis to be a majestic reference to the One and Only God. Either of these are far more logical explanations than the one using Elohim to back up the concept of the Trinity.
Very interesting Paul.
Which scholars say Elohim predates monotheism in Israel?
May I ask?
Still you celebrate Islam?
I am a Muslim, I have been for 16 years. If Islam was what you appear to think it is, I wouldn’t be Muslim. I didn’t embrace this religion blindly, I was researching it before I decided to embrace it and continued my research thereafter. Islam is actually very different to what is often presented in the media and extremist groups, it is a very diverse religion, open minded, logical, and flexible. Compare Christianity with extremists who belong to various cults, there is a huge difference. The same is true of Islam.
Paul,
You seem like a genuinely nice person, as I’m sure most Muslims are. But I would wager that you also never question your teachers teachings by looking in the Quran and Hadiths for yourself? It is considered blasphemy and unforgivable sin to question Muhammad’s claim to being a prophet. But that is what you would begin to do if you only read your most accurate hadith’s first chapter.
You should read some of my articles and listen to my talks and TV shows before coming to any conclusions… 🙂
Paul,
Please visit my blog as well.
How can violence be accepted by ANY human let alone an imam. I know who my Imams are and there is no violence in their being only love and peace for all LIVING beings, even for those who perpetrated violence of extreme against them. My Salaam to them.