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Saudi to mark Idul Fitri Sunday, other Mideast states on Monday
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Muslims pray at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on Laylat al-Qadr or Night of Destiny, one of the holiest nights during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, on March 26, 2025. (AFP/-)
S
audi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday from Sunday but other Middle Eastern countries will not do so until Monday.
"The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Idul Fitri,” the Saudi Royal Court said in a statement carried by official media.
The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced Sunday would be the first day of the holiday.
But neighboring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shiite-majority Iran, said that Idul Fitri would not begin until Monday because the crescent moon had yet to be sighted. Egypt and other North African countries followed suit.
During Ramadan, observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.
Fasting is widely practiced in Saudi Arabia, home of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
Across the Muslim world, Ramadan festivities this year were overshadowed by Israel's resumption of hostilities in Gaza, where its military campaign to eradicate Hamas has killed tens of thousands of people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
