Indonesia to Set Date for Eid al-Fitr on April 9

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Director General of Islamic Affairs at the Religious Affairs Ministry, Kamaruddin Amin, confirmed that the government will convene an Isbat meeting to ascertain this year’s Eid al-Fitr or the first Shawwal 1445 Hijri on Tuesday, April 9. The session will take place at the Ministry’s office in Jakarta.

“As usual, the Isbat session will be held on Ramadan 29. This year, it will be on April 9,” Kamaruddin said in his statement on Tuesday, April 2.

The ministry will extend invitations to Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR), Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), ambassadors from neighboring countries, representatives of Islamic mass organizations, and the ministry's team of astronomic calculation or Hisab Rukyat Team.

The isbat session will commence with a seminar on the position of the hilal or new moon by the Hisab Rukyat Team. “Based on the criteria of MABIMS, the position of the new moon meets conditions for visibility of the new moon (Imkanur Rukyat); the altitude of the new moon is 3 degrees and the elongation angle is 6.4 degrees,” he explained, mentioning MABIMS, the ministers for religious affairs of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The ministry will also monitor the new moon or rukyatul hilal in various provinces. “For the Isbat session, the ministry will dispatch teams to 120 locations throughout Indonesia. They will report on whether or not the crescent moon is visible that day.”

The DG said that the findings of the astronomical calculation and visual observation will then be deliberated and determined in the isbat session. “We are still waiting for the decision of the Isbat session regarding the date of Eid al-Fitr. The outcomes will be publicly announced in a press conference,” he concluded.

NINIS CHAIRUNNISA

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