Ministry of Religious Affairs: Eid Celebrated Together or on Different Days, Muslims Must Maintain Harmony
Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) will convene an isbat session to determine the official date of Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah on 19 March 2026. The Ministry has appealed to the public to maintain communal harmony should Eid 2026 fall on different dates.
“The isbat session will consider the results of astronomical calculations (hisab) regarding the position of the new moon of Syawal, which will serve as initial information to be confirmed through the mechanism of hilal observation (rukyatul hilal),” said Thobib Al Asyhar, Head of the Bureau of Public Relations and Communication at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, to reporters on Tuesday (10 March 2026).
He explained that the hisab and rukyat results will be discussed jointly with several invited parties during the isbat session, including Ministry officials, researchers from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the Planetarium, the Board of Hisab and Rukyat, Islamic community organisations, and ambassadors of friendly nations.
“If asked to predict Eid, we are naturally still awaiting the results of the isbat session for Syawal, which will take place on 19 March 2026,” he said.
“Whatever the result, we will comply. If the isbat session determines Eid falls on 20 March 2026, it means we will celebrate together with our friends from Muhammadiyah,” he added.
Thobib stated that should the isbat session determine Eid falls on 21 March 2026, it would differ from Muhammadiyah’s date. Nevertheless, he expressed hope that the public would maintain communal harmony.
“We hope that whether Muslims celebrate Eid together or on different days, the Islamic community will continue to respect one another and maintain harmony. On the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, everyone can share in joy and forgiveness,” he said.
He also reminded that on 19 March 2026, Hindu communities will be celebrating Nyepi. Therefore, he appealed to the public to maintain harmony and mutual respect of differences.
“Especially since the dates are close together, on 19 March our Hindu brethren will be celebrating Nyepi. All are expected to show mutual respect and maintain harmony despite our differences, as we have demonstrated throughout,” he said.
The isbat session will be conducted by the Directorate General of Islamic Guidance at the Ministry of Religious Affairs and is planned to be held at the HM Rasjidi Auditorium in the Ministry of Religious Affairs building.