In Dagestan, date of Eid al-Adha raises questions to Muftiate

The decision of the Dagestani Muftiate to schedule Eid al-Adha for August 12 seems to be controversial, since the last day of the Hajj passed on August 10, note residents of Dagestan interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". Users of Instagram also found no logic in scheduling the holiday for another date.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Dagestani Muftiate scheduled the celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday on August 12, while in other regions the first day of the holiday came on August 11.

When determining the date of Eid al-Adha, the Muftiate should focus on Saudi Arabia, since the holiday of sacrifice is continuously associated with the rites of the Hajj, says Rashid, a 25-year-old resident of Makhachkala.

Islam, a resident of Makhachkala, complained that he "did not understand" the position of the Dagestani Muftiate, since this year, pilgrims stood on Mount Arafat on August 10.

The decision of the Dagestani Muftiate is based on "more stringent methods" of determining the beginning of the lunar month and, accordingly, the day of the holiday, suggests Magomed, a resident of Kaspiysk. "At the beginning of the month [Suhl-hij], people observing the sky should see the young month by their own eyes [without any devices]," the man said.

On the page of the Dagestani Muftiate on Instagram, along with congratulations on the holiday, users also posted several critical comments under expressions of congratulations. "The day before yesterday, people stood on Mount Arafat, and, accordingly, the holiday should have been yesterday and not today," wrote, in particular, user oussamaah2016 on August 12.

"The entire Muslim world celebrates the holiday on August 11, while Dagestan scheduled the holiday for August 12," confirmed user tima.9.900. The Instagram user ironically assumed that "there was another moon for the Muftiate of Dagestan."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 13, 2019 at 10:29 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.