The announcement was made by Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar at a press conference in Jakarta on Saturday, based on the results of the direct observation of the hilal by the ministry.
Hilal is the new crescent moon that marks the start of the month in the Islamic calendar. The requirements for determining the beginning of the month have been set by the religious ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore (MABIMS).
Umar explained that based on the observation, the height of the crescent moon across Indonesia is still below the horizon, ranging between -3°15'28"(-3.26°) to -1°04'34"(-1.08°), with an elongation angle of 1°36'23"(1.61°) to 1°12'53"(1.21°).
Referring to the MABIMS criteria, the beginning of the Hijri month is determined if the crescent moon has a minimum height of 3° and the elongation or angular distance between two celestial bodies reaches 6.4°.
"According to calculations, today's crescent moon data does not meet the MABIMS crescent moon visibility criteria," Umar said.
Observation teams located in various parts of Indonesia have also reported to the ministry that the crescent moon is not visible yet.
Thus, he informed, the method applied was istikmal or perfecting/rounding the number of days in a month to 30 days.
Minister Umar said he hopes that with the announcement of the Eid al-Fitr date, all Muslims in Indonesia can celebrate the festival with joy.
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Translator: Sean Filo Muhamad, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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