When is the Eid Al-Fitr 2016 holiday, as predicted by NASA?

by Muhith Masih (বাবু) | June 28, 2016 9:05 am

Eid Al-Fitr is expected on Wednesday July 6 after a 30-day Ramadan, but public holidays start from as early as July 1.

Most Muslims around the world this year will celebrate the Eid Al-Fitr festival on Wednesday July 6, commemorating the end of Ramadan 2016. Eid Al-Fitr in Arabic literally means “festival of breaking the fast”.

The Eid is expected to be on Wednesday July 6, but as per Muslim tradition, it can only be confirmed based on sightings of the Moon on Monday July 4.

If the Moon is seen on Monday then the lunar month of Ramadan will have ended after 29 days and Eid Al-Fitr will be on the next day on July 5. But if the Moon is not seen as NASA[1] predicts, Ramadan will be assumed to have lasted 30 days and the start of Eid will be celebrated on Wednesday 6.

UK and North America

In the USA, the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) announced[2] that Eid Al-Fitr will be observed in the United States on Wednesday 6 July, based on astronomical predictions.

The Charity groups Islamic Relief Canada and Islamic Relief UK also predict the Eid to be on July 6.

In the UK, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will host an Eid food festival in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, July 9. The charity group Islamic Relief UK predicts this year’s Eid will fall on Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

Holiday tradition

Traditionally, Eid-Al-Fitr is celebrated for three days and is an official holiday in all Muslim majority countries.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced on Thursday that Turkey will observe a nine-day public holiday for Eid Al-Fitr, from Saturday, July 2 until Sunday, July 10. The official holiday, however, will be for three days, from Tuesday July 5 until Thursday July 7, 2016.

Together with the weekeed, this allows public sector employees to enjoy a six-day holiday from Tuesday until Sunday. Eid-Al-Fitr is also known in Turkish as “Seker Bayrami” or “Ramazan Bayrami”.

Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates also announced a nine-day public holiday, effectively starting from July 1. In Oman, the holiday will start from Tuesday July 5.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also likely to observe a three-day public holiday over the same period. In 2015 Eid Al-Fitr was on Friday July 15, and the UAE’s public sector declared a five-day Eid holiday, from Thursday July 16 until Monday July 21.

Public holidays

To recap, the following public holidays have been officially announced so far:

– UAE and Bangladesh: nine-day holiday, from Friday July 1 until Saturday July 9.

– Oman: five-day holiday, from Tuesday July 5, until Saturday July 9.

– Turkey: nine-day public holiday, from Saturday July 2 until Sunday July 10.

Source: Al Jazeera

Source URL: https://priyoaustralia.com.au/articles/2016/when-is-the-eid-al-fitr-2016-holiday-as-predicted-by-nasa/

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