- VIVAnews/Tri Saputro
VIVAnews – Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, could not yet announce the start of this year’s fasting month. However, NU would still put out efforts so that it coincides that of Muhammadiyah.
“We will put out efforts so that it can be at the same time. But if it’s different, we respect the other one,” NU Executive Board General Chairperson, Said Aqil Siradj, told VIVAnews in Jakarta.
Muhammadiyah had already declared the beginning of fasting month of 1432 Hijri to be August 1, 2011. The decision was made official by Muhammadiyah East Java executive board. The date was set after the executive board had a deliberation.
The consensus was based on hisab, an astronomical calculation to decide the position of new moon, carried out in Tanjung Kodok, Lamongan, East Java. The ijtima (lunar conjugation) of Sya’ban 29 is on July 31 from 1.39am to 1.41am when the sun sets at 5.31pm WIB (Indonesian Western Time) and the hilal, the crescent moon that is first visible after a new moon, was at the position of 7 degree 7 minutes 36 seconds to 7 degree 16 minutes.
Despite Muhammadiyah has announced the start of the fasting month, NU was not in haste to do it. “It’s not that we don’t know hisab. We are still waiting for rukyat (observation),” said Said Aqil.
According to him rukyat has been a custom of NU. Only after rukyat will NU announce the first day of Ramadan.
“The session will take place after seeing the moon,” Said Aqil explained.
Translated by Indah Lestari
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