Ministry of Religion Held Isbat Session Determination Of Eid Al-Fitr 1 Syawal 1442 H This Afternoon

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religious Affairs will hold a session on Isbat Idulfitri 1 Syawal 1442 H this afternoon. The trial will be conducted online and offline.

Vice-Chairman of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives, Ace Hasan Syadzily said, the Isbat session that will be held later in the afternoon follows one of the methods of calculating the Ramadan period, which is 29 days.

"There are two possible falls of 1 Syawal 1442 H. There is a possibility of 29 days of Ramadan fasting or 30 days," Ace told reporters on Tuesday, May 11.

Golkar Party legislators said, in the method that has been used by the government, the determination of the date of 1 Syawal through rukyatul hilal was done by several people assigned by the Ministry to monitor in the regions.

"If the hilal is not visible, then fasting is perfected to 30 days", explained Ace.

Later in the afternoon, Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas is scheduled to lead the Isbat session followed by representatives of Islamic organizations, scholars, astronomers, delegations of friendly countries, and other related elements.

Director-General Ministry of Religion of Bimas Islam, Kamaruddin Amin, said the trial was conducted following strict COVID-19 health protocols because it is still in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, not all representatives are physically present in the Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs as in previous years.

The afternoon Isbat session will be held in several stages. It began with an open exposure of the position of the new crescent moon (hilal) based on astronomical data (Falak) by the Hijri Hijri Calendar Unification Team. The activity will start at 16.45 WIB.

The session continued with Maghrib Prayer and then held a closed session. The hearing will hear reports of the data of the reckoning and the results of the rukyatul hilal.

After that, the results of the trial will be announced by the Minister of Religious Affairs along with related parties in a press conference.

"Finally, the results of the trial will be announced by the Minister of Religious Affairs teleconference and broadcast live by TVRI as a TV Pool and live streaming in social media of Ministry of Religion", Kamaruddin said in his official statement some time ago.

Known, Ministry of Religion in establishing 1 Syawal 1442 H combines two methods, namely through astronomical calculations (reckoning) to determine the exact position of hilal. Then there will be a forecast of the location of the new moon and confirmed by looking at the hilal directly (rukyat).

The method has a simulation if the new moon is seen some time after the maghrib arrives (qobla ghurub) then this afternoon is determined to have entered 1 Syawal 1442 H. That is, the people of Indonesia will celebrate Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday, May 12.

On the other hand, if the hilal is not seen or not witnessed by the mourners, Tuesday evening is still designated as the night of 30 Ramadan. Meanwhile, 1 Syawal will fall on Thursday, May 13.