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Idul Adha to fall on Dec. 8
Muslims in Indonesia will celebrate the Islamic Day of Sacrifice, or Idul Adha, on Dec
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Muslims in Indonesia will celebrate the Islamic Day of Sacrifice, or Idul Adha, on Dec. 8, 2008, the same day as those in Southeast Asian countries and Saudi Arabia.
The date was set during a meeting of representatives from Indonesian Islamic organizations and the Religious Affairs Ministry in Jakarta on Thursday.
The ministry director of Islamic affairs Muchtar Iljas, who chairs an organization which determines the dates of Islamic holidays, said Muslim leaders came to a consensus on Nov. 27.
The decision came about because the moon was still below the horizon when the sun descended on Nov. 27, 2008, or 29 Dzulqa'dah 1429 in the Islamic calendar, he said.
"The religious affairs offices in 27 provinces stated that they did not see the moon at the time. That's why the month of Dzulqa'dah was completed in 30 days," Muchtar added.
"Therefore, we decided that the first of Dzulhijjah 1429 falls on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008."
In the Islamic calendar, Idul Adha falls on the 10th day of Dzulhijjah.
Muchtar said Muslims in Southeast Asian nations and Africa had similarly decided that the date of Idul Adha would fall on Monday, Dec. 8.
Hamim Aziz, a representative from the Islamic organization Al Wasliyah, urged the Religious Affairs Ministry to hold an itsbat meeting to choose the date of Idul Adha by the end of Dzulqa'dah, not early Dzulhijjah.
He said the organizations should not wait until Saudi Arabia had determined their fate for the Day of Sacrifice.
The Islamic guidance director general at the ministry Nasaruddin Umar, who chaired the Thursday itsbat meeting, said his office had considered "technical matters" when setting the date of Idul Adha.
He said the Saudi government often changed its ruling on the date of Idul Adha, so Indonesia had to wait for them, as the Islamic country, to hand down their final ruling.
Idul Adha is related to the Islamic haj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in which wukuf is part of the main ritual. In Islam, haj pilgrims come together wukuf on the field of Arafah on 9 Dzulhijjah, or a day before Idul Adha.
Like Idul Fitri, Idul Adha was often celebrated in Indonesia and other Muslim countries on different days because of the various methods for calculating the dates.
