Disagreement on the date of Eid al-Fitr 2023 in France

Taking into account “the most precise scientific data”, the French Muslim Theological Council CTMF estimates that “the new moon will take place on Thursday April 20 at 4:13 GMT, or 6:13 am Paris time”. On the same day, Thursday April 20, from 7:19 p.m. GMT, i.e. 8:19 p.m. Paris time, the conditions necessary for the ocular vision of the new crescent of Shawwal will therefore be met. As a result, the month of Ramadan 2023/1444, for Muslims of France, will end on Thursday, April 20, after a 29-day fast and the first day of the month of Shawwal, which corresponds to Eid al-Fitr, will take place on Friday, April 21, 2023,” the agency said.

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The French Council of the Muslim Faith CFCM also announces the same date as the CTMF, but federations like the Grand Mosque of Paris prefer to wait for the decision to be taken by other Muslim countries, notably Saudi Arabia. With the exception of Turkey, countries should not publish other dates than those indicated by the CTMF according to the astronomical calculation method. But it is only this Thursday that it will be possible to confirm whether Eid ul-Fitr will take place on Friday April 21 or Saturday April 22, depending on the country.

According to a forecast map from the International Astronomical Center (IAC), published by Sapphire News, the crescent moon will be visible to the naked eye in the Americas on Thursday evening April 20, but theoretically only with telescopes in South America, Europe and West Africa. This year, “seeing will be very difficult and will require an accurate telescope, a professional observer and exceptional weather,” said IAC director Mohamed Shawkat Odeh. He states that it will be difficult “to see the crescent moon, even through a telescope, from anywhere in the Arab world unless these conditions are met.”

“If we want to remain rational, the Muslim countries (which have adopted the method of observation), except perhaps Morocco where the visibility of the moon would be possible, should announce Eid for Saturday April 22, estimates the planetologist Smaïl Mostefaoui: The risk of divergence is present and even numerous, but “experience shows that it is possible that Saudi Arabia will announce the date of Friday” and that the Muslim federations gathered around the Great Mosque of Paris will follow the date Saturday, April 22. Especially when those not only chosen by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also and above all by Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, countries from which many Muslims in France come.

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The Union of French Mosques (UMF), the Turkish federations (CCMTF and Milli Görüüs) and the CTMF, relying for their part on the method of astronomical calculations and the principle of transmission of visibility, announced Eid for Friday, April 21. . In any case, celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr on this day will not be a mistake for fasters.