Difference in Eid 2026 Dates: DPR's Commission VIII Urges Public to Maintain Unity
The government has officially determined that Eid al-Fitr, 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah, falls on 21 March 2026. Chairman of DPR Commission VIII, Marwan Dasopang, stated that differences in the day of Eid can be tolerated.
“Even if there are members of the public who understand and believe that 1 Syawal falls on the following day, Friday, it can be tolerated, and this should not become a division among us as Muslims, and let us maintain our brotherhood well,” said Marwan at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (19/3/2026).
Marwan urged all parties to maintain unity amid differences in the Eid date this year. For information, Muhammadiyah has previously determined that the start of the month of Syawal 1447 H falls on Friday, 20 March 2026.
“Therefore, it is decided that 1 Syawal falls on Saturday, 21 March. We support this step, and it is truly remarkable even though the Minister of Religious Affairs has been entrusted, through agreement with various elements, alhamdulillah, it becomes our unity and solidarity,” he stated.
Previously, the government officially set Eid al-Fitr 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah or Eid 2026 on 21 March 2026. This determination was decided based on the results of the isbat session held by the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag).
The isbat session for determining 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah was held at the Ministry of Religious Affairs office, Jalan MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (19/3/2026). Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar directly led the isbat session.
The isbat session was attended by leaders of DPR Commission VIII, leaders of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Director General of Islamic Guidance, and representatives of other Islamic organisations. The determination was made after the session participants heard presentations on the results of hilal monitoring.
“Thus, based on the results of calculations and the absence of reports of visible hilal. It is agreed that 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah falls on Saturday, 21 March 2026,” he said.
The isbat session mechanism began with a presentation on the hilal position by the Unified Hijriah Calendar Team of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, based on astronomical calculations (hisab).
Experts conducted direct hilal observations at hundreds of points across Indonesia, such as 117 locations for Syawal 1447 H, and the results were collected from field officers.
The Hisab Rukyat Team of Kemenag has reported the monitoring of the hilal position for determining Eid 2026. Based on calculations, the hilal did not meet the criteria of the Minister of Religious Affairs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore (MABIMS) in Indonesian territory.
“We see. The image is clear, all magenta, all red. If the curve earlier is combined across the entire territory of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, it does not meet the MABIMS Qomariyah new month criteria, the colour is magenta,” said a member of the Kemenag Hisab Rukyat Team, Cecep Nurwendaya, during the isbat session seminar at Kemenag.
Cecep stated that the hilal position in parts of Aceh Province has met the minimum hilal height parameter of 3 degrees under MABIMS criteria, but it does not meet the minimum elongation parameter of 6.4 degrees. However, according to Cecep, MABIMS criteria require both to be fulfilled, namely the minimum hilal height and elongation.
“Thus, the date of 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah based on MABIMS calculations falls on Saturday Pahing, 21 March 2026 AD. The height is met but the elongation is not. Whereas MABIMS requires both to be met. That is the mandatory requirement for both. No ‘or’, it’s ‘and’,” he said.