Ministry of Religious Affairs to Monitor Zulhijah Crescent at 88 Locations, Idul Adha Determination Scheduled for 17 May

The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) will conduct monitoring of the initial Zulhijah 1447 Hijriah crescent at 88 points spread across Indonesia. This monitoring forms an important part of the isbat session for determining the start of Zulhijah and the establishment of Idul Adha 1447 Hijriah.

The isbat session is scheduled for 17 May 2026, corresponding to 29 Zulkaidah 1447 H, at the H.M. Rasjidi Auditorium, Ministry of Religious Affairs RI, Jalan M.H. Thamrin No. 6, Jakarta.

Arsad Hidayat, Director of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Development at Kemenag, stated that the isbat session will involve various elements, from ambassadors of friendly countries, Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Commission VIII of the DPR RI, BMKG, the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG), BRIN, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Islamic organisations, falak experts, academics, to pesantren leaders.

“The isbat session serves as a joint forum to integrate the results of calculations and crescent sightings to establish the start of Zulhijah 1447 H accurately and acceptably to all Indonesian Muslims,” said Arsad in Jakarta on Tuesday (12/5/2026).

Based on calculations, the conjunction preceding Zulhijah 1447 H is estimated to occur on Sunday, 17 May 2026, around 03:00:55 WIB. During the sighting, the crescent’s position across Indonesia is predicted to be above the horizon with elevations ranging from 3 degrees 37 minutes 51 seconds to 6 degrees 54 minutes 23 seconds.

Meanwhile, the elongation or angular distance between the moon and the sun is estimated to range from 8 degrees 58 minutes 23 seconds to 10 degrees 36 minutes 52 seconds.

According to Arsad, the crescent monitoring is conducted extensively to make the sighting results more accurate and provide a strong basis for decision-making in the isbat session.

“Crescent monitoring is carried out extensively in various regions of Indonesia so that the obtained sighting results are increasingly accurate and can serve as the basis for decision-making in the isbat session,” he said.

The crescent sighting locations are spread from Aceh to West Papua. Several observation points are at observatories, beaches, building rooftops, observation towers, and strategic mosques.

In Aceh, sightings will be conducted, among others, at the Tgk. Chiek Kuta Karang Lhoknga Observatory and Km 0 Sabang. Meanwhile, in DKI Jakarta, monitoring will take place at the Kemenag Regional Office in DKI Jakarta, the Hasyim Asy’ari Grand Mosque, to the Pondok Labu Falak House.

For Central Java, observations will be at the Planetarium and KH Zubair Umar Al-Jailani Observatory at UIN Walisongo Semarang, Kartini Beach in Jepara, to Jetis Beach in Purworejo.

In East Java, sighting points are spread across the Al Islam Joresan Pesantren in Ponorogo, Pancur Alas Beach in Purwo Banyuwangi, to the Tuban Crescent Sighting Tower.

Kemenag hopes that the implementation of crescent sightings in various regions can proceed smoothly, so that the determination of the start of Zulhijah and Idul Adha 1447 H can be announced accurately and accepted by all Indonesian society.