RI, most Gulf countries start Ramadan today

Jakarta, NU Online
Most Indonesian Muslims will begin this year's fasting month of Ramadan on Monday, as will Saudi Arabia and most other Gulf states.

But at least two small groups of Indonesian Muslims -- one in Jember, East Java, and another in Gowa, South Sulawesi -- began their fast on Sunday.<>

"Allow us to announce that the first day of Ramadan falls on Monday, Sept. 1, 2008," Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni said Sunday.

The date was decided during a meeting at the minister's office to determine the start of Ramadan.

The meeting, led by Maftuh, involved representatives from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the two largest Islamic organizations in the country, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and numerous other Muslim groups.

Maftuh said only four out of 27 teams of observers deployed across the archipelago reported seeing the hilal (new moon) that marks the start of the holy month.

The four areas where the new moon was sighted were Gresik in East Java, Bantul in Yogyakarta, West Lampung and West Jakarta. Observers sent to other locations found it difficult to see the moon because of bad weather.

There have been frequent disputes between the NU and Muhammadiyah over the first day of Ramadan because the two organizations have different methods for calculating the start of the holy month. Muhammadiyah relies on astronomical calculations, while NU uses the sighting of the new moon called rukyah.

The Religious Affairs Ministry has established a Lajnah Daimah (permanent committee), comprising representatives of all major Islamic organizations and the Information and Communications Ministry, to bridge the dispute.

"God willing the dispute will be overcome soon," Maftuh was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.

Even though the dispute between Muhammadiyah and NU over the start of Ramadan has been settled for this year at least, several minor Islamic groups began fasting a day earlier.

Around 800 followers of the An-Nadzir in Mawang village, Bontomarannu, Gowa regency, kicked off Ramadan on Sunday after making their own astronomical calculations.

The An-Nadzir congregation said Ramadan began at about 3 p.m. Saturday based on hisab and rukyah as well as local tidal patterns.

One An-Nadzir leader, Lukman A. Bakit, said the group had been making observations for two months -- during the Islamic months of Rajab and Syaban -- and had begun making calculations two weeks ago, beginning Syaban 16.

Similarly, some Muslims living around the Mahfilud Dluror Islamic boarding school in Jember, East Java, also started fasting Sunday.

School leader Ali Wafa said the decision to start fasting earlier was based on a rule stating that the beginning of Ramadan fell five days after the date the fast began the previous year.

The rule was written in a book titled Nazahatul Majalis by Syech Abdurrohman As Shufuri of the Syafi'i school, he was reported by Antara as saying.

Ali said the rule had been applied since 1826 and the people near the school gradually followed suit.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, will also start Ramadan on Monday, as will most other Gulf states.

Senior religious councils in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates said the moon's crescent was not sighted after nightfall on Saturday, and so Sunday would be the last day of the month preceding Ramadan, Reuters reported.

Only Libya was reported to have set Sunday as the first day of Ramadan. (dar)