Bangladesh will celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr on Wednesday, not Thursday as announced earlier in the evening, the National Moon Sighting Committee says.
The committee announced the date after a second meeting at the Islamic Foundation in Dhaka on Tuesday night.
After the first meeting lasting about one and a half hours, State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had told journalists that the Shawwal moon had not been sighted, thus Eid would be celebrated on Thursday.
It took time for the committee to review reports from 64 districts, Bangladesh Meteorological Department, and the Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization or SPARRSO, and consult Islamic scholars from across the country before arriving at the decision, Abdullah had said.
“Because students of madrasas also tried to see the moon. We had to hear from them. Hence the delay,” Abdullah had said.
“It’s not a political decision. So please don’t try to misinterpret it,” he had added.
The committee sat again later in the night as India and Pakistan announced Eid on Wednesday with reports of the moon being sighted.
After the second meeting, the state minister said about 11:20pm that they revised their decision after getting reports from at least seven government officials who themselves sighted the moon in different districts.
“This second announcement is not beyond Sharia law,” he added.
