Ministry of Religious Affairs Schedules Isbat Session for Determining 1 Syawal on 19 March 2026
Jakarta — The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) will convene an isbat (confirmation) session on 19 March 2026 to determine 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah, coinciding with 29 Ramadan 1447 H. The session will be held at the H.M. Rasjidi Auditorium, Ministry of Religious Affairs headquarters in Jakarta, beginning at 4:00 PM local time.
The announcement was made by Abu Rokhmad, Director-General of Islamic Community Guidance (Dirjen Bimas Islam), on Sunday, 1 March 2026.
The session will be held at the H.M. Rasjidi Auditorium following recent renovations to several rooms in the area. The venue selection considered technical aspects including the availability of adequate space for invited guests, and the relatively light office and traffic conditions due to most employees and the public having begun their holiday exodus. This facilitates traffic management and parking arrangement.
Abu stated that preparations for the 1 Syawal 1447 H isbat session have been conducted in accordance with applicable procedures, encompassing both substantive and technical support aspects.
“The session is conducted based on verified calculation data (hisab) and crescent moon sighting results (rukyat), and through a mechanism open to the public,” Abu said.
He noted that the isbat session will involve various parties, including astronomers from the Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), planetariums, observatories, representatives of Islamic civil society organisations, and other relevant institutions.
“Because it involves wide representation, the decision of the isbat session has strong religious legitimacy,” he emphasised.
Arsad Hidayat, Director of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Development, added that technical preparations continue to be refined, including coordination of crescent moon sighting monitoring (rukyatulhilal) at various points across Indonesia. “From a technical perspective, we have prepared support for session facilities and infrastructure, a crescent moon sighting reporting system, and coordination with monitoring points across Indonesia. We hope the session process can run in an orderly, accurate, and informative manner for the public,” he explained.
He also urged the public to await the official government announcement after the entire session sequence is completed.
The isbat session will begin with a crescent moon position seminar, followed by verification of crescent moon sighting reports from various regions, then the execution of the isbat session and official announcement of the determination of 1 Syawal 1447 H by the Minister of Religious Affairs.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs held a preparatory meeting for the 1 Syawal 1447 H isbat session at the Kemenag Thamrin Building on 27 February 2026. In addition to the Director-General of Islamic Community Guidance and the Director of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Development, the meeting was attended by Lubenah Amir, Secretary of the Directorate-General of Islamic Community Guidance, Ismail Fahmi, Head of the Sub-directorate of Calculation, Crescent Moon Sighting and Sharia, and several officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.