T

he government and Muhammadiyah, the country'€™s second largest Muslim organization, have decided on different days for the Islamic Day of Sacrifice, Idul Adha, this year.

Muhammadiyah has decided that the day will fall on Sept. 23 while the government on Monday decided that it would fall a day later.

Muhammadiyah executive member Ma'€™rifat Iman said the organization had decided on the date a month ago.

'€œWe have decided that the month of Dzulhijjah begins on Sept. 14, therefore Idul Adha will take place on Sept. 23,'€ Ma'€™rifat said.

But he told the public not to worry, giving his assurances that Muhammadiyah and the government would have the same date for Idul Fitri until 2025.

Muhammadiyah often sets different dates for holidays to the government as they use different methods.

Muhammadiyah usually determines the Islamic calendar using hisab (astronomical calculations).

The government has claimed that it incorporates different methods to decide Idul Fitri, Idul Adha and other Islamic holidays. But it often follows the country'€™s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, in using ru'€™yat (the sighting of the moon) to determine the calendar.

The Religious Affairs Ministry held an isbat (confirmation) meeting with Muslim organizations on Sunday and decided that the month of Dzulhijjah would start on Sept. 15, which means that Idul Adha, the 10th day of the month, will fall on Sept. 24.

'€œHilal [the crescent moon] has not been spotted yet above the horizon from Papua to Aceh, therefore we have decided that Dzulhijjah will start on Sept. 15,'€ the ministry'€™s Islamic development director general Muhammad Machasin said on Sunday.

However, he added that the government gave Indonesian Muslims the freedom to choose the date to celebrate Idul Adha.