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)