For centuries, the sighting of a crescent moon has signaled the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fast and prayer for Muslims.
This year, the sight was obscured in some parts of the world by the sun’s glare during the total solar eclipse, delaying some Islamic communities’ declaration of Eid al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of the fast. Although only a narrow band of North America experienced a total eclipse, the phenomenon reduced lunar visibility elsewhere, experts said.
“It has to do with timing,” said Dr. Diana Hannikainen, observing editor at Sky & Telescope magazine in Cambridge, Mass.
“A lunar crescent that’s only a few hours old on eclipse day would have been impossible to spot,” she said.
In Kerala, a state in southern India, the new moon was spotted on Tuesday, but it was not seen in the capital of New Delhi, so Muslim communities in India will celebrate Eid one day apart.
In Saudi Arabia, an authority on religious observances for many Muslims, the government called on all Muslims throughout the kingdom to look for the crescent moon on Monday. When it was not reported seen, the Supreme Court declared on Tuesday that Eid would be celebrated beginning on Wednesday.
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