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<\/p>\nAll the key dates for Eid ul Fitr 2026 after moonsighting announcements began today<\/p>\n
19:15, 18 Mar 2026Updated 19:30, 18 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
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Members of the Malaysian Islamic authority carry out a moonsighting in Kuala Lumpur(Image: Vincent Thian\/AP\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
The first declarations of the official date of Eid ul Fitr 2026 have been made.<\/p>\n
This first main event of the Islamic calendar translates as ‘festival of breaking the fast’ and falls at the start of Shawwal, the month after Ramadan<\/a> and its daily dawn-to-dusk fasting.<\/p>\n Officials decide the date after looking for the Eid<\/a> or Shawwal moon, a custom that takes place on the 29th day of Ramadan each year. If the moon is seen, Ramadan ends and Eid is held the next day; if it’s not sighted, Ramadan continues into a 30th day and Eid is the day after that.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong><\/p>\n Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states started their Ramadan on February 18, while others did not begin fasting until February 19. This means that Day 29 of Ramadan isn’t the same everywhere.<\/p>\n So, if you’re wondering if it’s Eid tomorrow, the answer depends on when you are asking, where you live and which announcements you follow.<\/p>\n The only country known to be celebrating Eid ul Fitr 2026 tomorrow (Thursday, March 19), is Afghanistan. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Supreme Court of Afghanistan officially declared Thursday as the first day of Eid ul Fitr after several people sighted the crescent on Wednesday in a number of provinces, including Farah, Helmand and Ghor.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states were also looking for the moon on Wednesday, March 18. They didn’t see it, so their Ramadan goes on into a 30th day and Eid is on Friday, March 20.<\/p>\n Many neighbouring countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and Iraq will also observe Eid on March 20.<\/p>\n Leading UK mosque Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham<\/a> follows the Saudi reports and will hold a major outdoor prayer gathering<\/a> in Small Heath<\/a> Park on Friday.<\/p>\n Other countries will be looking for the moon on Thursday, March 19, which is their 29th day of Ramadan. But the thin crescent will be difficult or even impossible to see in most parts of the world.<\/p>\n Astronomical data indicates the moon won’t be visible at all in India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa. Singapore has taken account of this and already announced that its Ramadan will therefore continue into Friday and Eid will be on Saturday, March 21.<\/p>\n The moon would potentially be visible in Turkey on March 19, if observers are using a telescope, and on that basis Turkish officials have already announced they will celebrate Eid on March 20.<\/p>\n Morocco and the UK will also be looking for the moon on March 19 but it will be very difficult to see. If there are verified sightings, then Eid will be on Friday, March 20; if not, then Eid will be on Saturday, March 21.<\/p>\n The UK’s New Crescent Society, which has asked people to look for the moon at dedicated sighting locations across the country, including one in Birmingham, said: “According to the astronomical data, it is possible to see this moon, but it is extremely challenging. If we do manage to see the moon, it would be a record sighting in terms of challenging moons for us in the UK.<\/p>\n “Locate it first using an optical aid (binoculars or a telescope). Then look in that location with your naked eye. In other words, this is not a moon you would normally casually see with the naked eye alone. Weather reports currently are extremely promising \u2013 it’s exciting to see what will happen.”<\/p>\n Some other countries and organisations dispense with the uncertainties of moon sightings and base dates solely on advance astronomical calculations. This is the case for Australia<\/a> and a leading Islamic council in North America<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All the key dates for Eid ul Fitr 2026 after moonsighting announcements began today 19:15, 18 Mar 2026Updated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":835035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7820],"tags":[25712,855,748,41993,41994,393,4884,33512,16,15],"class_list":["post-835034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-birmingham","tag-asian-communities","tag-birmingham","tag-britain","tag-eid","tag-eid-in-birmingham","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-muslim-communities","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116252820732242354","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}