Minister of Religious Affairs and MUI Address Differences Over Start of Ramadan
Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar has urged the public not to view the differing determinations of the start of Ramadan 1447 H/2026 in Indonesia as something negative. He said the differences could in fact represent something beautiful. “These differences form a very beautiful configuration,” he said after convening the isbat session at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.
According to him, Indonesia has considerable experience in dealing with differences over the start of the fasting month. Despite this, society has remained united.
The government determined the start of Ramadan 1447 H/2026 to be Thursday, 19 February 2026. The reason was that the position of the hilal (crescent moon) across Indonesian territory on Tuesday, 17 February 2026 did not meet the MABIMS criteria.
Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Anwar Iskandar noted that there are more than 80 Islamic mass organisations in Indonesia, making differences highly likely.
However, he said, these differences only concern matters that are ijtihadiyah, or technical in nature. “They do not concern matters that are qath’i or fundamental,” he said on the same occasion.
He also said that the possibility of differences in commencing or concluding the fast is something normal and understandable. Most importantly, he said, is the unity of the Muslim community.
“It is therefore important to understand and respect one another. Indeed, as a democratic nation, we need to accustom ourselves to living with differences,” he said.
According to him, differences, if managed well, will produce beautiful harmony. This is also part of efforts to maintain Indonesian unity, including by the government.
The government uses the MABIMS criteria to determine the start of Ramadan. MABIMS — the Ministers of Religious Affairs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore — is a crescent visibility standard that requires a minimum hilal altitude of 3 degrees above the horizon and a minimum elongation angle (the angular distance between the moon and the sun) of 6.4 degrees at sunset.
On 17 February 2026, the hilal altitude across Indonesian territory ranged from -2.41 degrees to -0.93 degrees, with elongation angles between 0.94 degrees and 1.89 degrees. The hilal position and elongation in Indonesia did not reach the required minimum thresholds.
Previously, the Central Board of Muhammadiyah had determined that 1 Ramadan 1447 H would fall on Wednesday, 18 February 2026. This determination was based on astronomical calculations, including that the ijtimak (conjunction) preceding Ramadan 1447 Hijriah would occur on 17 February 2026 at 12.01 UTC.