Thursday marked the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from sunup to sundown.
That's not too bad in, say, Istanbul, where the sun rises around 5:30 a.m. and sets around 8:30 p.m.
But at this time of year, the sun doesn't set in Canada's North. Like, at all.
So what's a Northern Muslim to do?
At the Islamic Centre of Yellowknife, the community uses Edmonton hours for prayer times.
There are 150 or so practicing adult Muslims in the city, though some pray at home following Mecca time, according to Nazim Awan, chair of the Islamic Centre of Yellowknife.
Fasting is only intended for those who can safely do it, which is why exceptions are made for those who are pregnant or ill. Awan said the same applies to those who would never get to break their fast if they went by the midnight sun.
"The extraordinarily long fasting is not intended by the Qur’an," he told BuzzFeed Canada.
"There is almost an agreed upon thing by scholars that that’s not fasting — it is just punishing yourself."
At Inuvik's Midnight Sun Mosque — Canada's northernmost mosque — observers follow Winnipeg or Mecca hours.
Muslims in Inuvik told the Globe and Mail that fasting in the north is an adjustment, but it's doable if they keep an eye on their watches instead of the sky.
"Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do this. It’s an abnormal situation," Inuvik engineer Ahmad Alkhalaf told the Globe.
And over in Iqaluit, observers stick to the hours in the closest community with a mosque — Ottawa.
Still, there are those who are determined to observe the sun's movements, no matter where they are.
