As the Islamic month of Ramadan comes to an end Muslim communities across the world are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. But, as with many Muslim holidays, its exact date isn't fixed. Eid is celebrated after either 29 or 30 days and comes to an end the day after the first night the new moon is visible.
There are some other complications. Some countries including India and Bangladesh start Ramadan a day later than the UK so start looking for the moon a day later. You can read more about the way the date of Eid is set here.
But another difficulty comes from the fact there isn't an official system for deciding what counts as a moon sighting for Muslims in the UK. Some mosques and communities will look for the moon in British skies on Thursday, April 20, but others will follow reports from other countries including Saudi Arabia.
This leads to a 'divided Eid,' BirminghamLive reports, with a leading expert on the moon-sighting board at Islamic broadcaster Noor TV predicting communities across the UK could end up celebrating Eid on different dates. Dr Raja Zahid Nawaz said: "Unfortunately this year it is very likely that we will have a divided Eid within the UK. This stems from following external countries blindly without even realising or understanding what their moon-sighting systems are.
"Also there is a failure to correctly interpret astronomical data which leads to confusion. I am pleased to see the UK Government has published data on the UK visibility. This has made it clear that there will be no sighting in the UK and many other countries."
Some reports from Saudi Arabia indicate Eid could be celebrated on Friday, April 21, if the moon is sighted on Thursday. Many people in the UK follow these forecast but it is likely the moon will not be visible in the UK on Thursday, April 20, before becoming "easily" visible on Friday and Dr Nawaz says this should be the information communities in the UK follow. You can read the full forecast here.
Dr Nawaz continued: "Furthermore this year many astronomical experts and institutes from all over the world have made it clear that there is no chance of any sighting of the crescent on Thursday. This has created mass awareness where people are now beginning to question blindly following foreign countries. It will become increasingly difficult to make unsubstantiated claims of actual sightings."
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