New service provides instant 'Iftar' and 'Imsak' times anywhere in the world
Al Arabiya News, the English language platform of the Middle East's leading news channel, has partnered with micro-blogging site, Twitter, to keep people around the world informed with the 'Iftar' (breaking of fast) and 'Imsak' (beginning of fast) during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The time of Iftar and Imsak can be accessed on Twitter by simply tweeting @AlArabiya_Eng following by a hashtag of the city you live in.
For example, if you are living in London and want to know your local Iftar time, then all you have to do is to log onto your Twitter account and tweet to @AlArabiya_Eng followed by #London and #Iftar and you will immediately receive a response stating the time of the local time of the Maghreb prayer in London, which marks the end of the fasting day.
Similarly, if you are in Lahore and was wondering what time is Imsak, then all you need to do is to tweet @AlArabiya_Eng followed by the words #Imsak and #Lahore to receive a tweet back with the local time for the Fajr prayer which marks the beginning of the Muslim fasting day during the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Hijri (Islamic) calendar, is observed by millions of Muslims around the world. Observers abstain from consuming all kinds of edibles and drinkables - from sunrise to sunset - for the duration of the month. They are also required to abstain from smoking and having sex.
For its part, Twitter has released an interactive map which shows the Ramadan-linked conversations that took place during Ramadan 2014.
Following "74.2 million tweets about Ramadan" last year, Twitter has also introduced Ramadan and Eid icons to the social media platform.
