Ramadhan fasting month starts Monday: Government

Ramadhan fasting month starts Monday: Government

JAKARTA (JP): The government announced on Sunday that the
Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan this year will begin on Monday.

The decision followed a meeting between Minister of Religious
Affairs Tolchah Hasan and representatives of major Muslim
organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah, Al
Irsyad and the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI).

Also present at the meeting were the ambassadors of several
Muslim countries to Indonesia.

Muhammadiyah earlier announced that the fasting month would
start on Monday following mathematical calculations conducted in
the early hours of Sunday.

The Islamic calendar is based on lunar phases. Mathematical
and astronomical calculations are carried out along with other
methods, such as lunar sightings, to determine the onset of
certain months.

On the eve of Ramadhan, several Muslim youth organizations
urged political leaders to engage in introspection, whether
individually or as a group, during the holy month, while
encouraging people to respect differences of opinion.

"This Ramadhan should be the month of contemplation to find
settlements to the myriad of problems facing the nation," the
Association of Muhammadiyah Youth (IRM), the Association of
Nahdlatul Ulama Youth (IPNU) and the Indonesia Islamic Students
Association (PII) said in a joint-statement.

The National Awakening (PKB) Party's faction in the House of
Representatives also issued the similar message, asking people
not to disrupt peace during the fasting month.

"We warn political opportunists and agent provocateurs to stop
actions which have inflicted losses on society and the nation.
Nobody is allowed to prohibit people from performing their
religious duties," read the statement, signed by chairman
Taufikurrahman Saleh and secretary Abdul Khaliq Ahmad. (bby)