Eidul Azha on Aug 12, Muharram to begin on Sept 1: Fawad Chaudhry

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry announced this year's dates for Eidul Azha and the beginning of the month of Muharram, based on scientific evidence.

In a tweet, he confirmed that Eidul Azha will fall on August 12, a Monday, while the first month of the Islamic calender, Muharram, will begin on September 1, a Sunday.

Preposterous to detach science from religion: Fawad Chaudhry

The light veined tweet also addressed the disagreement with the Reut-e-Hilal Committee over the sighting of the moon and said "Now that the argument over this Eid's dates has ended, what will be the dates for the next two most important Islamic dates, Eidul Azha and Muharram".

"According to the Hijri calendar, Eidul Azha will fall on Monday, August 12 while Muharram will begin on Sunday," the tweet said.

چلئے اب اس عید کی بحث ختم ، اب اگلے دو اہم اسلامی دن یعنی عید الاضحیٰ اور محرم کب ہیں ، ھجری کیلنڈر کے مطابق عید الا ضحیٰ سوموار 12 اگست 2019 اور محرم یکم ستمبر 2019 بروز اتوار کو ہو گا۔

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) June 6, 2019

The minister used the Ministry for Science and Technology's newly launched lunar calendar to determine the dates. The calendar was launched to end the controversy that often surrounds the moon sighting for important Islamic events. The calendar can be accessed by the website and can also be downloaded as a mobile phone application.