RIYADH – Eid Al Fitr, the feast marking the end of Ramadan, is expected tostart on June 15, astronomers in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan observed the startof the Ramazan with the Saudi Arabia and is likely that this time the Eidul Fitr would also be observed along with the Saudi Arabia as the moon willbe born on the sameday.
“We expect Ramadan this year to last only 29 days and to end on June 14.The crescent marking the end of the month will be visible for about 43minutes, so Eid will be on Friday,” Abdullah Al Misnad, a professor at theUniversity on Qasim in Saudi Arabia, said.
Astronomer Khalid Al Zaaq said that Ramadan would not be 30 days and that,therefore, Eid would be on June 15.
Another astronomer, Ziyad Al Jahni, said that he was certain based on hiscalculations that Ramadan would be 29 days and that Muslims would celebrateEid Al Fitr on June 15.
“I am 99.99 per cent sure about it, so those who are thinking of travellinganywhere should go ahead with their plans based on the June 15 date,” hesaid, quoted by Saudi news site Sabq on Friday.
Adel Al Saadoon, one of Kuwait’s best-known astronomers, said that Eidwould start on Friday, June 15.
“The crescent will be visible with the naked eye in most Arab countries andsome Islamic countries on Thursday following sunset, so the next day willbe Eid,” he said.
The Islamic calendar is based on the moon, making months last 29 or 30 days.
The sighting of the crescent moon marking the start or finish of Ramadanhas often been a point of debate among Muslims, resulting in countriesannouncing the start or the end of the holy month on different days.
The clash is mainly between conservatives who insist on seeing the moonwith the naked eye, in line with a literal interpretation of Islamicprinciples.
Such a view is in contrast with that held by those who call for the use ofastronomical calculations to predict the start or end of the month.
For the naked-eye sightings, varying geographical and weather conditionsmeant that people in different locations cannot see the appearance of themoon, resulting in Muslims around the world starting or ending their faston different days.
However, the strict interpretation of the visibility stipulation isincreasingly becoming a source of national and social divisions, defeatingthe call for unity preached by Islam during the sacred month.