WEB DESK: Will Eid-ul-Fitr fall on March 30 or 31? While the entire Muslim Ummah is fasting and looking towards the Eid celebrations at the end of Ramazan, preditions and projections are also pouring in about the Eid date.
This time, new predictions have emerged by the astronomers in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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According to Arab media, Egypt’s National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research has predicted that this year Ramazan in Egypt will be 29 days long. This means that the new moon of Shawwal is likely to be sighted on March 29 with Eid-ul-Fitr falling on Sunday, March 30 – in Egypt.
The Egyptian National Astronomical Institute has also named about 30 cities in the world, apart from Egypt, where the Shawwal moon is likely to be sighted on March 29. These cities include Saudi Arabian cities Mecca, Medina and Riyadh; Turkish capital Ankara; Iran’s capital Tehran, Oman’s capital Muscat, United Kingdom’s London, and Russia’s Moscow.
This list of cities also has one entry from Pakistan, as the research institute predicts that Shawwal moon is likely to be sighted in Karachi too, on March 29. Traditionally, however, Islamic calendar in Pakistan follows one day behind the UAE.
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On the other hand, Emirates Astronomy Society Chairman Ibrahim Al-Jarwan has said that according to astronomical calculations, Eid-ul-Fitr could fall on March 31.
Which of the two institutions turn out to be correct remains to be seen until the actual moon is sighted, but until then the anticipation and preparations for the festivities continue.