The start of Eid Al-Fitr was not without controversy in Egypt and other Arab countries, Reem Leila reports It was a sudden but pleasant surprise for many Muslims in Egypt. The Eid began Tuesday 30 August when it was widely predicted it would begin on Wednesday. On 29 August Egypt's Dar Al-Iftaa announced that the Ramadan month of fasting would end that night and that the beginning of Shawal -- when the Eid is celebrated during the first three days -- would start the following day. August was one of the hottest months of the year and the dawn to dusk fast had taken its toll on old and young fasters alike. So the country was in celebratory mood when the festivities began a day earlier. However, Muslims were shocked by newspaper headlines which questioned whether 30 August was indeed the first day of Eid or the last day of Ramadan. Front page reports claimed that millions of Muslims had broken their fasting a day earlier based on sighting Saturn instead of the crescent. Egypt's announcement was followed by a similar declaration in Saudi Arabia, thus generating controversy among Muslims in the Kingdom as well. The issue left many Muslims in Egypt and Saudi Arabia wondering if Ramadan ended too soon and whether they celebrated the Eid a day early. Usually the length of Ramadan, as all Hijri months, depends on the lunar calendar. Each month's beginning and ending is determined by sighting the crescent, a function that might have gone to Saturn this year instead. Most Egyptians were expecting the beginning of Eid on 31 August based on astronomer reports issued at the beginning of Ramadan. The happiness of an early Eid turned to doubt when newspaper headlines reported that Saudi Arabia had made its decision regarding the beginning of Shawal on sighting Saturn. A Saudi newspaper said "Saturn is visible this time of year, and can be easily observed with the naked eye. It was impossible to see the crescent on that day due to atmosphere conditions... this has been confirmed by the most prominent astronomers in the country." The decision was strongly supported by some Egyptian astronomers who confirmed that it was impossible to see the moon on 29 August. According to Mohamed Ahmed Suleiman, head of the Solar Department at the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), the sun's rays were so strong when the moon set on August 29 that no one would have been able to observe the crescent. Suleiman explained that on that day, the moon eclipsed in many Arab countries before sunset by at least three to six minutes, thus making it impossible to observe the crescent. "The moon was clearly seen without the help of telescopes on 30 August, thus indicating that the Eid would be the next day, Wednesday 31 August, and not the previous day," Suleiman said. Dar Al-Iftaa as well as Al-Azhar refuted these claims and stated that the Shawal crescent was seen at two locations in the country, Sohag and Toshka. "It was seen by the naked eye. The sighting was 100 per cent correct. Ramadan was 29 days this year," said Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour of Dar Al-Iftaa. Dar Al-Iftaa has seven committees in Helwan, 6 October City, Sohag, Toshka, Moqattam, Aswan and Al-Wadi Al-Gedid to sight the crescent each lunar month to mark its beginning and end. Hatem Ouda, head of the NRIAG, disagreed with Suleiman, siding instead with Ashour. According to Ouda, the final decision regarding the crescent sighting is set by religious authorities, pointing out that it differs from country to country. "Shawal's crescent appeared at 5.05am on Monday 29 August, and stayed in most Arab countries for almost 10 minutes before sunset. In other countries it lasted in the sky for nearly 18 minutes after sunset. Thus religious officials were able to make the official announcement about the beginning of the Eid. "Claims and controversy about the beginning of Eid is meant to dismantle the unity of the Muslim community throughout the Muslim world," said Ashour who added, "astronomical readings is one of the methods used to confirm the observation of the crescent, but when the crescent is observed by the eye, then all Muslims should abide by that." Ashour said that normal NRIAG calculations regarding the beginning and ending of lunar months coincide with observations of Egypt's seven locations concerned with sighting the beginning and end of each lunar month. "In conditions where the crescent is observed by the naked eye, then this report is strictly followed. This was the case this year."
