Ministry of Religious Affairs to Hold Eid al-Adha Determination Session Today
The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) will hold a session to determine the start of Zulhijah 1447 Hijri and thus the date of Eid al-Adha in Indonesia today, Sunday (17/5).
The Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance of the Ministry of Religion (@bimasislam) posted a schedule for this series of sessions on Instagram.
“Watch the Session to Determine Zulhijah 1447 H together with the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs, Sunday, May 17, 2026,” reads the caption in the post by the Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance.
They then stated: “Seminar on the position of the crescent moon at 4:30 PM WIB, Determination Session at 6:00 PM WIB, Press Conference for the Determination of 1 Zulhijah at 7:00 PM WIB.”
The series of determination sessions will be held at the Ministry of Religious Affairs building, HM Rasjidi Auditorium, Central Jakarta. The event will also be broadcast on the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ and Bimas Islam TV’s YouTube channels.
The Indonesian government determines the start of Hijri months such as Ramadan, Syawal, and Zulhijah using a combined method, namely hisab (astronomical calculations) and rukyat (lunar observation), to produce a comprehensive decision.
The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predict that the start of Zulhijah will fall on 18 May, so Eid al-Adha or the 10th of Zulhijah will fall on 27 May.
BRIN researcher Thomas Djamaluddin explained that during the determination session, the position of the crescent moon will be high enough throughout Indonesia and almost all over the world.
According to astronomical calculations, he said, the criteria for determining the start of Zulhijah in Muhammadiyah, the government, and Saudi Arabia are expected to be the same.
“Therefore, KHGT (Muhammadiyah) is the same as Ummul Quro (Saudi Arabia) which is the same as MABIMS (Government), the beginning of Zulhijah 1447 is the same as May 18, 2026, and Eid al-Adha on May 27, 2026,” said Thomas, Thursday (14/5).