'Knowing when Islamic New Year starts is vital'

Dubai: Not only do Muslim countries frequently differ when it comes to observing the beginning of Ramadan and celebrating Eid, but it seems they also vary in marking the start of the Hijri New Year (Islamic New Year).

While the UAE and Palestine marked the 1st of Muharram (the first month of the Islamic calendar) on Sunday, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt celebrated the first day of the Islamic month on Monday.

However, three UAE newspapers, the Khaleej Times, Al Ittihad and Akhbar Al Arab published Muharram 1 in the dateline for Monday's editions of their newspapers; Al Khaleej, The National and Business 24/7 did not mention the Islamic date; while Gulf News and Emarat Al Youm mentioned the date as Muharram 2, causing confusion among residents. "It is an important issue to me as I would like to fast for the first few days and also as a expatriate living away from my parents, I would want to wish my family members and relatives a happy new year," said Aisha Ramadan, a Palestinian.
Easily obtainable

Speaking to Gulf News on Monday Dr Ahmad Al Haddad, Director of the Dubai Fatwa Department, said: "Today is Muharram 2 in the country and those newspapers which have published that today is the first day of the Islamic month are wrong in this regard.

"The calendar for the new Hijri year was printed three weeks prior to the commencement of the New Year and organisations which did not have the calendar could have obtained it from any Islamic Affairs Department in the country," Dr Al Haddad said. When asked how the Islamic Affairs Department in the country calculates the days of the month, he said: "We depend on astronomical numbers when it comes to determining the beginning and end of ordinary months. However, when it comes to Ramadan or Dhu Al Hijja, we go for moon sighting."

He also pointed out the country's judgment on moon sighting was not dependent upon whether or not the moon had been sited in other countries.

"We have our own calendar and everyone in the country should follow that," he said.

Commenting on the mistakes made by other newspapers, Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News, said: "Newspapers should stop publishing the Hijri dateline until they are sure of the first day of the Islamic months. This is because it adds to the confusion of our readers and embarrasses the media who are entrusted by the people to provide them with the right information."

For Mahboob Shariff, an Indian expatriate, the issue was not of primary importance. "As people who are not experts in the field of Islamic studies, I think we should go with whatever the country has decided on."