Moon Not Sighted, Eid on Monday

The Moon of the Arabic Shawwal of 1441 Hizri has not been sighted anywhere in the sky of Bangladesh. The Holy Eid-ul-Fitr will be observed on Monday.

"The Holy Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Monday, Insha'Allah, as the Moon of Shawwal in 1441 Hijri was not seen today in the skyline of the country," said Religious Affairs Secretary Md Nurul Islam at the conference room of the Islamic Foundation in the Baitul Mokarram National Mosque here this evening.

He said that the decision was taken by the National Moon Sighting Committee at its meeting this evening after evaluating data and reports from all district administrations, offices of the Islamic Foundation, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department and the Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization.

Earlier, Nurul Islam presided over the National Moon Sighting Committee meeting at the conference room of Islamic Foundation in the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque here after Maghrib prayers.

Eid-ul-Fitr is Arabic word meaning “festival of breaking of the fast”. The festival marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk during the holy Ramadan.

On the morning of Eid, Muslims assemble in mosques and prayer places to bow to Eid and welcome each other. The festival is enjoyed by visiting friends and relatives, holding cooking events and eating sweets.