Muslims will celebrate `Eid Al-Fitr, which crowns the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, on Friday, March 20.

Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia announced that the new moon of Shawwal, the 10th month of Islamic calendar, was not sighted on Wednesday, March 18.

Similarly, Eid will be celebrated on Friday in Palestine, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, and Lebanon.

In Egypt, Dar Al-Iftaa or fatwa house said they will look for the new moon on Thursday and that `Eid would be celebrated on Friday or Saturday.

Muslims in Türkiye, Oman, The Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Jordan, Libya, and Morocco will also look for the new moon on Thursday.

Astronomical Calculations

Muslims in North America will also celebrate the feast on Friday, according to a statement by the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

Eid Al-Fitr is one the two main Islamic religious festivals along with `Eid Al-Adha.

Moonsighting has always been a controversial issue among Muslim countries, and even scholars seem to be at odds over the issue at times.

While one group of scholars proclaims that Muslims in a particular region are to follow the same moon-sighting as long as people in that region share one part of the night, another group maintains that Muslims everywhere should abide by the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia.

There is also a third opinion which states that once an authority in charge of ascertaining the sighting of the moon in a given country makes a statement, then Muslims in the country should all abide by this.