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Indonesians Split on Eid Day, To Celebrate Dec. 5th & 6th
By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL South East Asia correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, November 27 (IslamOnline)
- Indonesians
remain split on the date of Eidul Fitr celebrations, with the
Muhammadiyah, one of the largest Muslim movement in the country fixing
Eidul Fitr for December 5, while the government has fixed the date for
December 6, creating confusion among Muslims.
The
leadership of the Muhammadiyah in Jakarta on Wednesday, November 27,
said Eid will be celebrated by its members, amounting to around 30
million according to estimates, on December 5, defying a government
decision to celebrate the Eid uniformly a day later.
The
movement denied there were any political motive behind their decision
celebrate the Eid a day earlier adding that there were only a slight
differences between the Muhammadiyah and the government of Indonesia
on the understanding of Islam, the deputy leader of the movement Din
Syamsuddin told the Jakarta Post.
The
Secretary General of the movement, Haedar Nashir, added that the
decision was taken earlier this year during the Majlis Tarjih and
Islamic Thoughts held by the Muhammadiyah group, indicating that there
is nothing wrong with it and that it was a unified decision of the
members.
Nashir
added that the month of Shawwal will start on December 4 at 14:35
Indonesian time, and this is according to the calculations of the
rotation of the moon and the sun.
The
Muhammadiyah says it does not want to stir controversy on which day is
the first of Shawwal, explaining that according to its calculations it
was definite the Eid should be celebrated a day earlier than fixed by
the government.
The
Muhammadiyah started Ramadan a day earlier than the rest of Indonesia.
The
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islam based organization in
Indonesia supported the government in its decision to declare the Eid
on December 6. The rivalry between the Muhammadiyah and the NU dates
from the beginning of the creation of the NU itself.
The NU was created a few years later after the creation of the
Muhammadiyah, which is movement that accepts “bida’ halal”
(acceptable inventions) that does not fall under the sunnah of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The NU is a more conservative
group that attempts to enforce strict Islamic rules, sources said.
The
Muhammadiyah has pleaded with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and
its Minister Said Aqil Husein Almunawar to allow Muslims who wish to
celebrate Eid on the 5th by following the Muhammadiyah group to do so
without constraint.
The
group said the government must be tolerant to allow its followers to
celebrate Eid when they wanted to.
Though
confusing, it appears there are no fears in Indonesia that the
differences among the major Islamic movements on which day is the Eid
would split the Islamic community in the country.
However,
observers insist that in the long run, the country must find a way to
eliminate this problem that may cause disunity among the Muslims on
such an important date in the Islamic calendar.
IslamOnline
has also learnt that it is possible that the government will make a
final decision that Eid falls on December 5 in order to create unity
among the Muslims.
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