Last year, 26-year-old Alia Azmi felt alienated on the day she celebrated Idul Fitri. Tagging along with her father, a follower of Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, she celebrated the end of Ramadan fasting month one day ahead of the majority of Muslims in Indonesia.
Muhammadiyah called on its followers to celebrate Idul Fitri on Friday, October 12 last year, while the Indonesian government declared Idul Fitri fell the day after. "There was no takbir (calling for prayers) that are usually chanted to mark Idul Fitri day," she said, "People did not share the joy we felt."
While Alia had to deal with the feeling of alienation, people from other faiths were perplexed with Indonesian Muslims being divided on when to celebrate Idul Fitri for the umpteenth time.
Indonesian Muslims have been divided in celebrating Idul Fitri due to Islamic organizations using different methods to determine the beginning of a new Islamic calendar month.
Years are counted from Hijra, when the Prophet Muhammad emigrated to Medina from the city of Mecca in AD 622. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar with 12 lunar months in a year of about 354 days. Idul Fitri falls at the beginning of the month of Syawal, ending the month of Ramadan.
Nahdlatul Ulama, the biggest Islamic organization in Indonesia, uses both hisab (astronomical calculations) and rukyatul hilal (crescent moon sightings) to determine the beginning of a new month. Muhammadiyah depends only on astronomical calculations.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian government determines the start of the Syawal month in an Isbat meeting, which gathers ulemas from various Islamic organizations in Indonesia. The religious ministry also uses moon sightings to determine the date of Idul Fitri.
As the exact date of Idul Fitri holds a very important meaning for Muslims, a miscalculation in determining it will entail consequences -- in Islam it is haram (forbidden) to fast on Idul Fitri or to intentionally eat and drink during the day during Ramadan -- an effort to produce a unified Islamic calendar is under way.
Muhammadiyah official Syamsul Anwar says that an international conference to produce a unified Islamic calendar was held in 2007 and a that a second is scheduled to be held next month in Morocco.
On the local scene, the government has carried out a number of seminars on hisab and rukyat. The Bandung Institute of Technology's Salman mosque has also established a committee that will work to unify the Islamic calendar.
Astronomy scientist Thomas Djamaludin who has been promoting a unified Islamic calendar for a couple of years says he is optimist that by the end of this year Islamic organizations in Indonesia will have reached a common ground in determining the beginning of a new Islamic calender month.
"The key is to have a uniformed criteria, based on long-term sightings of the moon and astronomical calculations," he said.
Djamaludin conveyed his opinion during an Isbat meeting held by the religion ministry in August to determine when Ramadan falls. "Islamic organizations should be open to re-asses the criteria they use to determine the start of a new month," he said.
The different methods come from different views within Islamic organizations. Astronomical calculations were developed around the 9th century, some 200 years after the Prophet Muhammad lived. Ghazali Masroeri from Nahdlatul Ulama says there are verses in the Koran and in the Prophet Muhammad's sayings that laid the foundation for moon sightings.
"Islam is built upon revelation. It opens chances of innovation; however science is only an instrument that complements those revelations. Science is not everything," he said.
Ghazali said the NU made astronomical calculations and used moon sightings to determine the dates. The organization has some 55 spots across Indonesia for moon sightings, including sea shores and hill tops. A group of 99 certified sightseers would go to the spots to see the moon, he said.
"They are usually accompanied by hundreds of NU followers who want to witness the emergence of the crescent moon themselves," he said.
According to Djamaludin, there is a chance for the purists who rely on moon sightings and modernists who prefer astronomical calculations to reach a common ground."It depends on whether criteria to determine a new moon can be accepted by both groups," he said.
"This year and next year the position of the moon and the sun allows the criteria to be uniformed, however, if the criteria has yet to change by 2010, then there might be a difference again," he said.
Djamaludin suggested fixing the standard for making calculations on crescent moon readings at four degrees above the horizon. "The crescent moon can be seen at a height of four degrees above the horizon. This applies to both rukyat and hisab methods," he said.
He said the number was the result of long-term research on moon sightings and astronomical calculations.
Nahdlatul Ulama sets the height of the moon at two degrees above the horizon, while Muhammadiyah sets it at zero degrees above the horizon. "Islamic organizations will hold their conferences this year and next year. It will be a great moment to unify the criteria," he said."Hopefully there will be no more differences."
