Parliament Urges Public Tolerance on Differences in Determining the Start of Syawal
Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII of the DPR, Marwan Dasopang, has reminded the public across Indonesia to mutually respect and honour differing views in determining the start of Syawal 1447 Hijriah.
He stated that even if certain organisations or communities celebrate Eid al-Fitr tomorrow, Friday, 20 March 2026, that decision must still be respected and tolerated as fellow Muslims.
“Do not let differences divide us; let us preserve our brotherhood well,” said the PKB politician during a press conference at the Sidang Isbat for Determining 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah at the Ministry of Religious Affairs office in Jakarta on Thursday, 19 March 2026.
As is known, the Central Leadership of Muhammadiyah had previously set 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah to fall on Friday, 20 March 2026. That decision was based on a single global Hijriah calendar.
Meanwhile, the government through the Ministry of Religious Affairs has set 1 Syawal 1447 Hijriah to fall on Saturday, 21 March 2026. That decision was taken at the sidang isbat led by Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar on Thursday, 19 March 2026.
Nasaruddin said that the results of hilal monitoring across all regions of Indonesia showed that the position of the young crescent moon did not yet meet the criteria set by MABIMS, particularly in terms of elongation.
“The height of the hilal above the horizon ranged from 0 degrees 54 minutes 27 seconds to about 3 degrees, with elongation starting from 4 degrees 32 minutes 40 seconds,” he stated during the press conference at the Ministry of Religious Affairs office.
He added that, based on rukyatul hilal results from various regions, there were no reports of the hilal being sighted. Therefore, the government decided to complete the month of Ramadan as 30 days (istikmal), so 1 Syawal falls on Saturday.
Marwan Dasopang recounted that during the sidang isbat for determining 1 Syawal, Nasaruddin and other involved agencies did not rely solely on one source, such as the seminar presented by falak experts.
In the seminar held a few hours before the sidang isbat, it was stated that the determination of the start of Syawal 1447 Hijriah could potentially differ because the young crescent moon did not meet MABIMS criteria and elongation.
However, Marwan said, the seminar results were not immediately taken as reference. The meeting participants then awaited confirmation of hilal observations from all regions of Indonesia, which stated that it was not sighted by hisab.
“Therefore, we in Commission VIII of the DPR support it, even though the Minister of Religious Affairs is entrusted with the decision; he still awaited agreement with various elements. Alhamdulillah, it becomes unity and solidarity for us all,” said Marwan.
Previously, the Ministry of Religious Affairs conducted hilal point observations at 117 locations spread across Indonesia.
These observations were carried out by the Ministry’s regional offices together with district/city offices, Religious Courts, Islamic community organisations, and related agencies in the regions.