Ministry Of Religion Holds Hilal Monitoring Early Ramadan 1444 Hijri At 124 Points

The rukyatul hilal team from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Surabaya City recorded using a cellphone while observing the position of the moon (hilal) / ANTARA

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion will hold monitoring (rukyatul) on the beginning of Ramadan 1444 Hijri/2023 AD at 124 locations spread throughout Indonesia on Wednesday, March 22 tomorrow. The Director General of Islamic Community Guidance at the Ministry of Religion, Kamaruddin Amin said, the rukyatul hilal will be carried out by the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion and the Ministry of Religion of the Regency/City, in collaboration with Religious Justices and Islamic Organizations and other agencies in the local area. "The results of the rukyatul hilal which were carried out are then reported as consideration for the Isbat Early Session of Ramadan 1444 H," said Kamaruddin in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, March 21. The Ministry of Religion will hold an isbat (determination) session 1 Ramadan 1444 H on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The trial will be held offline at the HM Rasjidi Auditorium, the Office of the Ministry of Religion, and will be preceded by a hilal position presentation seminar delivered by the Hisab Rukyat Team of the Ministry of Religion. Kamaruddin explained that the trial considered initial information based on astronomical calculations (hisab) and field confirmation results through the hilal monitoring mechanism. Secara hisab, kata Kamaruddin, semua sistem sepakat bahwa ijtimak menjelang Ramadan jatuh pada Rabu, 22 Maret 2023 atau bertepatan dengan 29 Syakban 1443 H sekitar pukul 00.23 WIB. According to him, historically the position of hilal in Indonesia during the initial Ramadan 1444 H session, had met the new criteria set by MABIMS (Minister of Religion Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore). On Wednesday, the height of the hilal throughout Indonesia was already above the horizon, ranging from 6 degrees 46.2 minutes to 8 degrees 43.2 minutes, with an elongation angle between 7.93 degrees to 9.54 degrees. Meanwhile, according to the new MABIMS criteria, the rukyat imkanur is considered eligible if the position of the hilal reaches a height of 3 degrees with an elongation angle of 6.4 degrees. "This means that historically, on that day the position of the beginning of Ramadan in Indonesia was included in the new criteria for MABIMS," he said. However, the decision to determine the beginning of Ramadan will still be decided through an session chaired by Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and attended by a number of Friends State Ambassadors, Commission VIII DPR RI, Supreme Court, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Other agencies that will participate in the isbat session are the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG), Bosscha Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Planetarium, Falak experts from Islamic organizations, related institutions and agencies, members of the Hisab Rukyat Team of the Ministry of Religion, leaders of Islamic community organizations, and Islamic boarding schools.