Fasting start on different days
Fasting start on different days
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government decided on Thursday to commence Ramadhan on
Saturday, but the nation's second-largest Muslim organization,
Muhammadiyah, announced that the first day of the holy fasting
month fell on Friday.
Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Husein Al Munawwar
said the government's decision was made during a meeting with
leaders of various Islamic organizations to determine the start
of Ramadhan on Thursday.
Ambassadors from some Muslim countries were present at the
meeting, known as itsbat.
However, the minister stressed that the government would allow
Muslims in the country to start abstaining from food, drinking
and sex on Friday.
The government's decision to begin Ramadhan on Saturday was
based on the results of rukyah (determining the start of the
fasting month by sighting of the new moon) conducted by teams
from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and other Muslim groups.
The rukyah teams, deployed to beaches across the country on
Thursday afternoon, said they did not see the new moon on
Thursday. Therefore, the fasting month ought not to start on
Friday but on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Muhammadiyah deputy chairman Din Syamsuddin said
here on Thursday that, based on hisab (the astronomical
calculation to determine the first day of Ramadhan), his
organization had set Nov. 16 as the start of the holy month.
"According to our hisab, the first day of Ramadhan is
(Friday), and it will last until Dec. 16," Din told the press in
Jakarta.
The central executive board of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the
nation's largest Muslim organization, decided that the start of
Ramadhan fell on Saturday.
It said the decision had been made after its rukyah teams
found no moon on Thursday afternoon.
"A team in East Java did not see the moon and this has been
reported to the NU central board. The central board told me that
other teams outside Java did not see the moon either. Hence, we
believe that the start of Ramadhan is Saturday," Ali Maschan
Moesa, leader of the NU's East Java chapter, said.
However, Din, who is also secretary-general of the Indonesian
Ulemas Council (MUI), said the differing start dates for Ramadhan
should not necessarily be exaggerated because such a distinction
was normal in Islam.
"There are always different perspectives when using the
methods of rukyah and hisab," he added.
Din said Muslims, particularly members of Muhammadiyah, were
free to decide whether they would begin fasting on Friday or
Saturday, based on their own religious belief, arguing that the
different start dates were justified, according to Islamic
teachings.
Leaders of the 40-million-strong NU also said their
organization would appreciate it if its members commenced
Ramadhan on Friday.
"If there are Muslims who start to fast on Friday or Saturday,
we will recognize them," Maschan said.
Almost every year in recent times, NU and Muhammadiyah members
have begun Ramadhan or Idul Fitri celebrations, (the post-fasting
month festivities), on different days.
However, such differences have been seen as normal by Muslims,
who are used to performing their religious obligations
peacefully.
In a related development on Thursday, many Muslims in Jakarta
and other cities became confused after hearing the government's
announcement about the start of Ramadhan.
In Jakarta, hundreds of Muslims, who had gathered at mosques
to prepare for tarawih services (evening non-obligatory prayers),
had to cancel the prayers after hearing the official announcement
from the government.
However, many other Muslims in the capital, including those
gathering at Central Jakarta's Cut Mutia and Al-Falah mosques,
were unmoved by the government's announcement and proceeded with
their plans to perform tarawih prayers.