Metro
Confusion trails Eid-el-Kabir date
The Islamic community in Nigeria is enmeshed in a controversy over the actual date for this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
Jamaátu Nasril Islam, the umbrella body for Islamic organisations in Nigeria, has fixed the date for September 23 but the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs [NSCIA], has overruled the date, saying it is September 24.
The JNI in a statement on Sunday by its Secretary General, Khalid Aliyu, said the month of Dhul Hajj begins today (Monday), meaning Eid-el-Kabir would be observed on Wednesday, September 23.
But the Secretary General of the NSCIA, Ishaq Oloyede, on Monday said the announcement by the JNI was done in error.
Read also: Nigeria Declares Public Holidays For Sallah
“The NSCIA would issue a statement on the new month of Dhul hajj later today,” he said.
He also said the Moon-Sighting Committee of the NSCIA already agreed with the decision of authorities in Saudi Arabia that the month of Dhul Hajj begins tomorrow (Tuesday).
“Consequently, Eid-El-Kabir would be observed on Thursday September 24, while Wednesday is Arafat day,” he said.
The Sultan himself, who is the President of the NSCIA, had around midnight on a Saturday announced the sighting of the new moon and therefore the end of Ramadan.
”The new month of Shawwal was sighted in different places within Nigeria and therefore tomorrow (Sunday) is the first day of Shawwal equivalent to 27 July 2014,” the Sultan said in an announcement aired on the Nigerian Television Authority [NTA].
This is not the first time Islamic leaders in Nigeria are locked in controversy over moon-sighting or Eid day declaration.
The JNI, like the NSCIA, is under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Saád Abubakar.
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