The date for Eid ul Fitr 2024 has been announced in Morocco. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs confirmed the crescent moon had been sighted and Eid will be on Wednesday, April 10.
The ministry had earlier asked its religious committee and representatives to observe the moon for Shawwal, marking the conclusion of Ramadan. It had already been forecast by astronomers that the moon would easily be seen and Eid was likely to be on April 10.
Eid ul Fitr 2024 has already been announced in countries that looked for the crescent moon on Monday, April 8, and were unable to see it. That meant their Ramadan fasting had to go on one more day before they can break the fast with Eid on April 10, at the start of the next month, Shawwal.
Other nations are attempting to sight the moon on Tuesday, April 9. These included Morocco, which started its Ramadan on March 12 and has now reached the 29th day when it must try to spot the slim crescent in the evening skies.
READ MORE: Eid ul Fitr 2024 moonsighting live updates UK, Saudi, UAE, Morocco, Pakistan
Reports of moon visibility were being sent in by various teams across Morocco. The ministry then assessed all the information ahead of making an official announcement this evening.
UK astronomers from HM Almanac Office, a Government agency providing data to religious groups, armed forces, and calendar manufacturers, had issued a promising update by saying the moon should be clearly seen from North Africa. It said: “Easy sightings [on Tuesday, April 9] should be possible from western Asia, Europe including the British Isles, the Arabian Peninsula, the northern half of Africa, the Americas except the southern half of South America and the eastern PacificOcean region.”
Morocco is among the locations included in that geographical visibility zone. In Rabat, Morocco, sunset on April 9 is at 6.55pm local time and moonset at 8.04pm, so moonsightings were taking place between those times. Morocco is one hour behind the UK, which moved forward to British Summer Time on March 31.
Weather conditions for spotting the crescent were relatively favourable though there is some cloud across parts of the country. The reports from Morocco – Britain’s nearest Islamic country – will also be used by moonsighting committees in the UK if they aren’t able to get a glimpse of the crescent locally.