Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday publicized this year’s dates for Eidul Azha and the starting of the holy month of Muharram according to scientific proof. In a tweet, the minister declared that this season, Eidul Azha will fall down on Monday, Aug 12 while the holy month of Muharram, which marks the begin of the Islamic yr, will begin on Sunday, Sept 1.
"Now that the discussion over this Eid has ended, what are the dates for the upcoming 2 most important Islamic days, i .e. , Eidul Azha and beginning of Muharram: According to the Hijri calendar, Eidul Azha will fall on Monday, Aug 12 while Muharram will begin from Sunday, Sept 1,” Chaudhry tweeted.
The dates have been derived from the lunar calendar that was released by the Ministry for Science and Technology previous month in order to end the controversies over the sighting of the moon for Islamic months.
The calendar, which can be accessed through Pakistan’s "first official” moonsighting website as well as a mobile software, indicates scientifically determined dates for all major Islamic festivals/days for the ongoing and following yrs. The release of the website had attracted much opposition from religious factions that insisted that sighting of the moon should be physical and regardless of scientific proof.