Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — As Ramadan dey end, another wahala don show for Muslim community globally. Astronomers dey talk say dem no go see the crescent moon wey go mark Eid al-Fitr on Saturday, March 29, while many pious Muslims dey ready to look for am. Despite all dis, some feel say Nigeria authorities go still call Eid for Sunday, March 30, even if moon no show.
For years, Saudi Arabia, wey be home to Islam’s holiest sites, don dey face plenty critics wey talk say dem dey fake some moon sightings. Dem dey report moon sightings on days astronomers insist say e no go possible. Despite all dis noise, Saudi authorities never respond to dis criticisms.
The Islamic calendar na lunar-based, meaning say 12 months dey last 29 or 30 days, and di end of Ramadan dey depend on when dem fit sight di new crescent moon. While some countries dey rely on local moon sighters to spot di crescent, plenty people dey look up to Saudi Arabia for confirmation, making dem de facto leader for moon-sighting matters.
According to di official Saudi calendar, dem plan say Shawwal, di month wey follow Ramadan, supposed start by Sunday, March 30, but astronomers dey make noise say it go impossible to see di moon dis Saturday. Many Muslim countries go follow Saudi Arabia but others go dey look for di moon on Sunday and fit declare Eid on Monday instead.
In April 2023, astronomers don already criticize Saudi’s moon sighting for Eid al-Fitr, insisting say e no dey scientifically possible to see di moon. Prominent Kuwaiti astronomer, Adel al-Saadoun, don challenge anybody wey see di moon to drop evidence by snapping di picture. But, shortly after, Eid don still dey declared officially in Saudi Arabia, leaving many observers disappointed.
This year, Qatar Calendar House don say di moon go reach conjunction with di sun on March 29, adding say e go impossible to see di crescent for Saudi Arabia or Britain even with advanced telescopes. Di IAC, wey dey based for UAE, don confirm that on Saturday, di crescent go no show, but dem dey predict say if dem no see di moon on Saturday, Eid fit still happen on Sunday, March 30.
Imad Ahmed, wey be di founder and director of New Crescent Society UK, dey talk say dem don notice say Saudi dey quick to declare moon sightings wey dey impossible scientifically. “E dey happen regularly, and we fit predict am because dem dey follow di Umm al-Qura calendar wey no match lunar visibility,” e explain. “Not even one other person fit claim say dem see di moon when di same two or three people dey make di sighting every year.”
Ahmed also highlight say Türkiye gets their own lunar calendar wey dey transparent; dem no dey claim say dem see di moon, but dey show di formula. As di day dey approach, di conversation around moon sighting remain controversial, particularly for Muslim communities wey don diverge from Sanudi practices.
While Saudi Arabia and some other countries like Kuwait and UAE dey follow di same lead, others like Oman and Jordan go sometimes choose to celebrate on separate days. Last year, Oman and Jordan never accept Saudi Arabia’s sighting. For countries like Iran, di Shia-majority country dey also dey look for di crescent separately.
In di UK, Muslims don start to embrace local moon sighting methods, instead of just following di Saudi decision. “For decades, division don dey cause some families to celebrate together,” Ahmed dey reveal. “Our goal na to unite Muslims for UK; we dey try bring di moon back home.”
Meanwhile, as Eid dey approach, all eyes go dey on Saudi Arabia’s moon-sighting committee. Dem fit decide say dem no see di moon on Saturday, which go mean say Eid go hold on Sunday instead, causing a historic shift from di established calendar.
