Moon Sighting For The Holy Month Of Ramadan To Take Place On Sunday Night

As per an announcement made by the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) today, the official sighting of the moon to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramdan will be held on 11^th April 2021 - Shauban 29, 1442 as per the Hijri calendar. 

Just as usual, the policy for sighting the moon in the Maldives is to find out whether anyone in the nation has witnessed the moon on the particular date or whether other Islamic nations report the sighting of the moon. Anyone in the Maldives who claims to have witnessed the moon on the date shall give testimony if in Male’ City, in front of a judge at a court whereas if in an island, in front of a magistrate from a magistrate court. In cases where the island is without a magistrate, the witness is to give testimony to the highest administrative official heading the Island Council at the time. 

The announcement further states that the DJA, Island Councils and Magistrate Courts shall remain open on 11^th April from 5:30pm so that any witness can come forward with the information. Any expenditure incurred for the arrangements to provide their testimony shall be covered by the DJA.

Following this, a meeting shall be held between the relevant authorities on which day to declare as the first of Ramadan. The meeting is scheduled to be held at 8:30 pm on Sunday as per the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. 

(Photo: Midobun)