House has two-day holiday for Idul Adha

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As the Islamic Day of Sacrifice (Idul Adha) will be celebrated on two different days this year, the House of Representatives has arranged no activities for Tuesday for lawmakers who do not follow the official date of the holiday.

The government has declared that Idul Adha will fall on Wednesday, but the country's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, says the holiday will fall one day before.

The House had been scheduled to hold a plenary meeting to endorse labor bills on Tuesday, but the steering committee has removed the program from its agenda.

Legislator Zein Badjeber, who chairs the House's Legislation Body, acknowledged that he had been informed of the change.

"But, I think it (the change) is aimed at respecting those celebrating Idul Adha on Tuesday," Zein told The Jakarta Post after a meeting here on Monday.

A legislator and former chairman of Muhammadiyah youth group, Imam Addaruqutni, told the Post he would attend Ied morning prayers at Muhammadiyah University in Malang, East Java, on Tuesday.

The Islamic Day of Sacrifice marks the end of the haj pilgrimage in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca.

Muslims use different methods to determine when holidays fall, including Idul Adha.

Community and religious leaders have called on people to respect the difference, saying that it will enrich the religion and promote tolerance.

Prof. Djalaluddin, rector of Raden Patah Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) in the South Sumatra capital of Palembang, told Antara the difference in opinion about the date of Idul Adha reflected the highly respected tolerance among various schools of Islamic thought across the world.

In Semarang, Central Java, officials have intensified anthrax tests on cattle to be slaughtered during the Islamic holiday. Such tests have been conducted in Jakarta.

The tests will be limited to cattle traded in traditional markets.