# Ramadan beyond arctic circle
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-beyond-arctic-circle/618989
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [April 16, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-beyond-arctic-circle/618989 "2012-04-16T19:23:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-beyond-arctic-circle/618989/1 "2012-04-16T19:23:02Z")
Dex wrote about jewish and islamic dieatary laws in the article:
> **[Do Jewish and Islamic dietary laws have anything in common?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343250/do-jewish-and-islamic-dietary-laws-have-anything-in-common)**
>
> A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
I’ve had a discussion here in Finland with several muslim friends about following Ramadan beyond arctic circle. The problem lies that if Ramadan falls on mid summer the sun never sets and during mid winter it never rises. The concensus that my muslim friends came up is that one should follow Meccas sun rise and set times in this case. How widely followed ruling this is I don’t know, but it makes sense.
---
### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-beyond-arctic-circle/618989/2 "2012-04-17T14:15:09Z")
I can’t speak with any authority about Islam, my anecdotal information is that if there is no sunrise/sunset, one uses the time zones in Mecca. In Judaism, where I can speak with authority, the convention is to use the times of sunrise/sunset at the nearest place that has such and has rabbinic oversight - for example, Oslo.