Key Points
- Two billion Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid al-Fitr this week, marking the end of Ramadan.
- But the Australian Muslim community is split, choosing to celebrate their festive holiday on different days.
- Here's why there's some controversy around the Eid date among the community - and when it could be celebrated.
Nearly a million Muslims in Australia are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, a joyous religious holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink between dawn and sunset. To commemorate its ending, families and friends don their best clothes and gather to feast with sweets while gifting presents and money.
Eid al-Fitr is celebrated across three days, and translates to "the celebration of breaking one's fast".
But when is Eid this year? Unlike Christmas, there isn't a fixed date for the holy festival and the answer isn't as simple as one might think.
Two billion Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid al-Fitr this week, marking the end of Ramadan. Source: Getty / Ibn Jaafar
The moon as our guide
Islam follows the lunar calendar, so the visibility of a new moon determines the start of each month.
Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of the 10th Islamic month of Shawwal, but there is an ongoing debate about when that actually is.
Religious scholars have different interpretations of how Muslims can ascertain the start of a new month.
Some leaders believe that when the moon can be visible anywhere around the world, then Eid can be declared for the following day. Some take a regional approach, believing Eid can be marked if the moon is sighted in Australia's neighbouring countries, like Indonesia.
While a new moon can be visible in some parts of the world, it will not be seen in Australia by Thursday evening. Source: SBS News / Crescentwatch
While varying views have always existed and Eid is often celebrated across two days by different sects and cultural groups, the majority of Muslims in Australia followed the advice of its national peak body, the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC).
ANIC uses astronomical calculations to forecast the date when the new moon will be visible instead of waiting for the night before Eid.
But this year, the leaders that govern Australia's largest mosque in Sydney's Lakemba have chosen a different day to mark Eid, leaving its hundreds of thousands of followers torn on which day to celebrate.
When will Australians celebrate?
Last week, ANIC issued a statement to confirm the new moon will be seen in Australia on Friday, marking Eid as Saturday 22 April.
According to ANIC spokesperson and advisor Bilal Rauf, the council of imams and scholars deliberate on a set of criteria, one of which is the likelihood of the moon being visible in Australia, based on scientific calculations.
A new moon must be sighted before Eid is declared. Source: Getty / NurPhoto
But on Wednesday afternoon, Lakemba Mosque issued a statement in conjunction with other governing Islamic bodies that Eid will instead be celebrated on Friday 21 April.
It relied on several reasons, including the European Council for Fatwa and Research, which said its astronomical calculations will determine that the moon can be sighted in North America and parts of South America.
It's the first time in recent memory that Lakemba Mosque and ANIC, the country's largest representative bodies, have chosen different days to celebrate the festivities.
"It does mean that there are two major celebrations, but those things tend to happen and it's a product of a diverse and very large community with different segments and different views across it," Mr Rauf said.
Muslims are recommended to follow their local community mosques that have each made their own decisions on when Eid is.
