'Inside the Haramain' Facebook page down ahead of Ramadan moon sighting

[Editor's note: For live updates on moon sighting news across the world and from UAE, follow our live blog.]

Inside the Haramain, a news publication dedicated to sharing news the Two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia, announced on Tuesday, February 17 just before 1pm that their Facebook page has been "disabled".

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The timing is significant because many across the globe follow the social media pages of the publication on moon sighting days such as Tuesday, as millions wait to see when the holy month of Ramadan will start in 2026.

"Our Facebook page, Inside the Haramain, serving over 6 million followers worldwide, has been unexpectedly disabled at a critical time just before the beginning of Ramadan," Inside the Haramain said in a post on X.

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"The sudden disruption has prevented us from serving our audience on Facebook during this important period."

The publication said that it has formally requested an urgent review and called upon Meta, Facebook's parent company, to speed up the restoration of the page "given the significant public interest and the time-sensitive nature of Ramadan updates."

The publication added that updates will continue to be available on its other social media platforms.

• Saudi Arabia

Written by

Supreeta Balasubramanian

Supreeta is a digital journalist who reads between the lines as she churns out stories. She finds joy in K-pop, exploring new hobbies, and tackling her never-ending list of books to read.