Monday, 28 July 2014

Eid Al Fitr most likely on 28 July for most countries: Makkah Calendar

Makkah Calendar, a website dedicated to using modern astronomical methods* to forecast the Islamic calendar, has stated that Eid Al Fitr is most likely to fall on Monday, 28 July for most countries.

The site says that North, Central and South America, all of Africa, all of Europe, and almost all of Asia except Japan, North Korea and a few countries of Oceania will be able to celebrate Eid Al Fitr 2014 (Hijri year 1435) on 28 July 2014. The rest of the countries as well as some parts of Russia and China will celebrate Eid Al Fitr on Tuesday, 29 July 2014.

The people behind the site have projected that the new moon occur on Saturday, 26 July 2014 at 22:41 UTC, which is likely too late to be observed on the same day. Sunday, 27 July is when the new moon is expected to be visible in most parts of the world, marking the start of the month of Shawwal** on Monday, 28 July 2014. A part of China to the east of Siping (Jilin province) and a part of Russia to the east of the Yakutsak are not in the zone of observation, which means that these areas will celebrate Eid Al Fitr 2014 on 29 July instead, the site said.

*According to the people behind Makkah Calendar, the new month will start next day in any location if the crescent moon can be observed there at sunset, or if it can be observed to the west before the fajr (dawn) prayer in the location. Read about the method here.

**Shawwal follows Ramadhan.