Saudi astronomer Abdullah Al-Khudairi, director of the Astronomy Observatory in Sudair, prepares to sight the crescent moon. (File/AN photo)
The start of Eid al-Fitr is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, marking the beginning of the month of Shawwal.
Muslims around the world will soon bid farewell to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and start celebrating the holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Eid is marked with congregational prayers and festivities that typically include family visits, gatherings and new clothes.
This year, Eid will come just after the Israel-Hamas war crosses the somber milestone of having stretched on for half a year. During Ramadan, as Muslims around the world savored the traditions of their diverse communities, advocacy, prayers and charity for Palestinians in Gaza were high on the minds of many.
Eid al-Fitr is an Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the month when devout Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset. Ramadan is a time of increased worship, charity, and good deeds.
Islam follows a lunar calendar and so Ramadan and Eid cycle through the seasons. This year, the first day of Eid al-Fitr is expected to be on or around April 10; the exact date may vary among countries and Muslim communities.
In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, many people embark on an exodus to their hometowns to celebrate the holiday with loved ones. This year, an estimated 193.6 million travelers are expected to crisscross the vast archipelago for Eid in a homecoming tradition known locally as “mudik.”
In the past two years of Eid celebrations, Indonesians crammed into trains, ferries, buses and onto motorcycles as they poured out of major cities amid severe traffic congestion to return to their villages to celebrate the holiday with families. Flights were overbooked and anxious relatives, weighed down with boxes of gifts, formed long lines at bus and train stations for the journeys.
Before the holiday, popular markets teem with shoppers buying clothes, shoes, cookies and sweets.
In Malaysia, Muslims also have a homecoming tradition for Eid. The first day usually begins with a morning prayer in the mosque, seeking forgiveness from family and friends, and visiting loved ones’ graves.
There’s an “open house” spirit that sees friends and families trading visits to celebrate Eid and enjoy traditional delicacies such as ketupat, rice cooked in a palm leaf pouch, and rendang, a meat dish stewed in spices and braised in coconut milk.
In Indonesia called lebaran. Lebaran is the Indonesian popular name for two Islamic official holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha in Indonesia,[1] and is one of the major national holidays in the country. Lebaran holiday officially lasts for two days in the Indonesian calendar, although the government usually declares a few days before and after the Lebaran as a bank holiday. Many individuals or families, especially Muslims take paid time off from their workplace during these days.
In Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest shrines, announced Monday that the holiday of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the Ramadan fast will begin on Wednesday. "Supreme Court declares tomorrow the last day of #Ramadan and Wednesday the first day of #Eid Al-Fitr," the official Saudi Press Agency said on its X account.
The moon sighting in Saudi Arabia holds significance for India. Due to the time difference, India, except Kerala, typically celebrates Eid a day later than Saudi Arabia. If moon is sighted in Saudi Arabia tomorrow, then India will celebrate Eid on Thursday, April 11.
The Bihar government has announced holidays for school teachers on Eid-ul-Fitr and Ram Navami. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered that the holidays be given on April 10 and 11 for Eid-ul-Fitr and April 17 for Ram Navami, it said. According to a statement issued by the Education Department, the CM took "discomfiture" among teachers because of the residential training programme that deprived them of the holidays.
Some regions of Russia (for example, the Republic of Tatarstan) declared the end of fasting as a holiday. In Republics of Chechnya and Dagestan, Eid al-Fitr was celebrated during three days. Traditionally, four days before the sacred holiday Chechen women do a big cleanup in their houses, sweep in stables and stalls, clean areas adjacent to houses and wash cattle. After the cleaning each member of a family is obliged to perform the ablution of the whole body and put on clean clothes. Everybody is friendly and good-natured on this day. As a sign of greetings, they say: “May Allah send His mercy both to you and us!” As a response, they say: “May Allah accept both our and your prayers!”
On Eid al-Fitr Day early in the morning all men go to mosques, where they take part in the festive worship, while hostesses prepare the festive table. No one is allowed to work on this day. By the time of Eid al-Fitr houses should be cleaned, festive clothes should be prepared and presents for all the relatives should be bought. Muslims must visit their older family members and spend some time with them in order to show their respect.
With Eid just around the corner, the UAE is full of energy as the country prepares for the festivities. People visit busy markets, looking for the ideal Kandooras (a long white robe traditionally worn by men in Gulf countries), Abayas ( a long black loose-fitting robe for women that covers the entire body except for the face, hands, and feet), and other pieces of traditional clothing
It is not just about the clothes; families also buy or prepare sweets, like cakes, biscuits, and other baked goods to share with guests during Eid. Meanwhile, women and girls in the UAE enjoy the long-standing custom of decorating their hands with henna in advance of the celebrations
In China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, home to the Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority, Ramadan and Eid can be times of tension. Some groups, including Communist Party members and civil servants, may not partake in fasting because of the need for separation between religion and politics, and local security is increased to “prevent hostile forces from sabotaging religious activities.”
For Muslims elsewhere in China, who mostly belong to the Hui ethnic minority, practicing their religion, including celebrating large festivals such as Ramadan and Eid, is more relaxed.Those living in China’s largest cities celebrated with large-scale prayer at local mosques, family reunions, and feasts of breads, sweet pastries, meat, and dried and fresh fruit.
Eid al-Fitr in Indonesia
In Indonesia, Eid is called Hari Raya Idul Fitri. The celebration begins with the takbir, a call to prayer, and the Eid prayer is usually held in large open spaces. After the prayer, people visit their relatives and friends, and seek forgiveness from each other. In Indonesia, people also have the tradition of mudik, which means returning to one’s hometown for the holidays. The mudik tradition is so important that the government provides free transportation to make it easier for people to travel.
Eid in Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, Eid celebrations start with the sighting of the new moon. Muslims offer Eid prayers in mosques or large open spaces, and then greet each other by saying “Eid Mubarak.” The day is marked by feasting and spending time with family and friends. People visit their relatives and friends, and have a feast. They also give gifts to children and the elderly. Saudis also participate in traditional activities such as falconry, camel races, and traditional dances. Other festivities include fireworks, cultural shows, and other entertainment activities.
Eid in UAE
Eid is one of the most significant events in the UAE. It marks the end of Ramadan, and the preparations begin several days before the festival. People decorate their homes with ornaments and lights, buy new clothes, and prepare traditional sweets. On the morning of Eid, Muslims gather for their prayers. After prayers, people exchange gifts, share meals, and participate in public festivities such as fireworks, cultural shows, and carnivals.
Eid marks a time for families, friends, and communities to come together and celebrate with a unique blend of tradition and modernity. Charity is an essential part of the celebration in the UAE, and Muslims are encouraged to give to the less fortunate during Ramadan and Eid. The government, as well as various charitable organizations, distribute food, clothes, and money to ensure that everyone can participate in the festivities.
WEST JAVA, INDONESIAIndonesian Muslims attend Eid al-Fitr prayers along the banks of the river Cisadane in Bogor, West Java, on May 2, 2022. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world with an estimated 205 million adherents—or roughly 88 percent of its population.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ADRIANA ADIE, NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIESA Palestinian performer amuses onlookers with a wire which ignites sparks on the top of debris in front of Gaza City's Italian Tower, on June 22, 2015.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALI HASSAN, ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES
BEIRUT, LEBANONLebanese whirling dervishes perform during the holy month of Ramadan in the capital Beirut's Verdun Street on June 8, 2017. The ritual of whirling dervishes is observed by Sufi Muslims in honor of the 13th century poet Rumi. Though commonly associated with Turkey, NPR notes that there "are now many Sufi dervish orders around the world."
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANWAR AMRO, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
MOSCOW, RUSSIAMuslims gather to offer prayers at the central mosque in Moscow on July 5, 2016. The city is home to about a million Muslims—and the Moscow Times reports that there's limited space at the Cathedral Mosque "so worshippers often spill out onto the surrounding streets."
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDER UTKIN, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
BEIJING, CHINAChinese Hui Muslim men light incense after Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of Ramadan at the historic Niujie Mosque on July 6, 2016, in Beijing. Of an estimated 23 million Muslims in China, nearly half are Hui, who are ethnically Chinese and speak Mandarin. China's constitution provides for Islam as one of five "approved" religions in the officially atheist country, although the government enforces severe limits. Worship is permitted only at state-sanctioned mosques and proselytizing in public is illegal. During Ramadan, Hui Muslims fast from dawn until dusk.
PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN FRAYER, GETTY IMAGES
JALALABAD, AFGHANISTANAn Afghan circus performer rides a motorcycle on the so-called "Wall of Death" at a fair on the second day of Eid al-Fitr in Jalalabad on August 9, 2013.
PHOTOGRAPH BY NOORULLAH SHIRZADA, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
They also delight their taste buds with sumptuous Iftar meals in the sacred city of Mecca. They experience the joy of breaking fast with fellow worshippers, surrounded by the spiritual ambiance of Ramadan
Germany faces charges from Nicaragua at the top UN court on April 8, 2024, that it is “facilitating the commission of genocide” against Palestinians. (ANP / AFP)
Nicaragua on Monday called on the United Nations’ top court to halt German military and other aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin’s support was enabling acts of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Opening Nicaragua’s case at the International Court of Justice, the country’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos José Argüello Gómez, told the 16-judge panel that “Germany is failing to honor its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law.”
While the case brought by Nicaragua centers on Germany, it indirectly takes aim at Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following the deadly Oct. 7 attacks when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Its toll doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it has said women and children make up the majority of the dead.
Israel strongly denies that its assault amounts to genocidal acts, saying it is acting in self defense. Israeli legal adviser Tal Becker told judges at the court earlier this year that the country is fighting a “war it did not start and did not want.”
But Nicaragua rejected that defense, in a reference to Germany’s support for Israel.
“Surprisingly, Germany seems not to be able to differentiate between self-defense and genocide,” Argüello Gómez said.
Germany, whose lawyers will address the court Tuesday morning, rejects the case brought by Nicaragua.
“Germany has breached neither the Genocide Convention nor international humanitarian law, and we will set this out in detail before the International Court of Justice,” German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer told reporters in Berlin on Friday.
Nicaragua has asked the court to hand down preliminary orders known as provisional measures, including that Germany “immediately suspend its aid to Israel, in particular its military assistance including military equipment in so far as this aid may be used in the violation of the Genocide Convention” and international law.
It also wants the court to order Germany to resume funding to the United Nations aid agency in Gaza in addition to the aid Berlin is already providing.
“It is indeed a pathetic excuse to the Palestinian children, women and men in Gaza to provide humanitarian aid, including through airdrops, on the one hand, and to furnish the weapons and military equipment that are used to kill and annihilate them” and humanitarian workers, Nicaragua lawyer Daniel Müller told judges.
The court will likely take weeks to deliver its preliminary decision, and Nicaragua’s case will probably drag on for years.
Monday’s hearing at the world court came amid growing calls for allies to stop supplying arms to Israel as its six-month campaign continues to lay waste to Gaza.
On Friday, the UN’s top human rights body called on countries to stop selling or shipping weapons to Israel. The United States and Germany opposed the resolution.
Also, hundreds of British jurists, including three retired Supreme Court judges, have called on their government to suspend arms sales to Israel after three UK citizens were among seven aid workers from the charity World Central Kitchen killed in Israeli strikes. Israel said the attack on the aid workers was a mistake caused by “misidentification.”
Germany has for decades been a staunch supporter of Israel. Days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained why: “Our own history, our responsibility arising from the Holocaust, makes it a perpetual task for us to stand up for the security of the state of Israel,” he told lawmakers.
Berlin, however, has gradually shifted its tone as civilian casualties in Gaza have soared, becoming increasingly critical of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and speaking out against a ground offensive in Rafah.
Nicaragua’s government, which has historical links with Palestinian organizations dating back to their support for the 1979 Sandinista revolution, was itself accused earlier this year by UN-backed human rights experts of systematic human rights abuses “tantamount to crimes against humanity.” The government of President Daniel Ortega fiercely rejected the allegations.
In January, the ICJ imposed provisional measures ordering Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and acts of genocide in Gaza. The orders came in a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of breaching the Genocide Convention.
On March 28, the court ordered Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into the war-ravaged enclave.
‘Boycott Germany for forcing Palestinians to pay for its crimes’
Transcript thanks to Brian Robinson
I think it’s time for a boycott of the German state. Specifically, I mean a boycott of its public events. By artists, performers, writers. authors, musicians, those who care about human rights, who oppose mass murder, who oppose what the highest court on earth, the International Court of Justice, is investigating as an alleged genocide, that is, Israel’s mass murderous onslaught against Gaza and its people.
Here’s why. Now, if I were the German state at this particular juncture, I would simply keep a low profile. Let me just sit down and… just sit this one out. That is not the tactic they’ve gone for. Instead, they’ve settled on a particularly gruesome strategy to gain absolution for the attempt by the German state to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe in which two-thirds of Jews were murdered within living memory.
Now firstly, the German state has long loudly demanded that somebody else pay for the crimes committed by the German state, specifically the Palestinian people. It seems to believe, or does clearly believe, that compensation for what it did should be paid by Palestinians. Through being violently ethnically cleansed, repeatedly occupied, their land stolen, colonised, subjected to apartheid, huge state violence over and over again, mass incarceration, suspension of basic civil liberties, we could go on.
These are all horrors which clearly no German citizen would tolerate. Now I’m aware that it’s not just the German state responsible for 2,000 years of European antisemitism by any stretch. It is simply the case that firstly 19th century German antisemitism played a pivotal role in the racialisation of antisemitism, that is turning antisemitism into a race theory, which became a precondition for its particularly genocidal form, and the rise, obviously, of Nazism, and then the Shoah, the murder of six million Jews. All of that is a precondition for what is happening today.
Now, this attempt to force other people to pay the price for what Germany did as a state, now takes the form of being one of the world’s leading legitimisers and apologists and backers for the present mass murder of Palestinians. Now, that’s always been very profitable, I would note, for the German arms company since the arms trade between the two countries, Germany and Israel, began in the early 1960s. By November last year, military exports to Israel from Germany were up tenfold, thanks to fast tracks in the aftermath of the current… horror unfolding. Reading a headline in the Financial Times like “Israel-Hamas war boosts German investor interest in defence sector” says Renk Chief [Renk Group AG, a German arms manufacturer], that was the other day, or pass the sick bag.
Secondly, in a particularly perverse twist of history, not only is the German state targeting anyone who speaks out in support of the Palestinian people, they are disproportionately targeting Jewish people. You can’t make this shit up. Let’s just listen to Yuval Abraham, a brilliant Israeli Jewish journalist who I interviewed late last year. He’s one of the directors of No Other Land, a documentary film about the forced displacement of the Palestinian people of Masafer Yatta, where another co-director, Basel Adra, is from. Now, he made a speech at the Berlinale Film Festival. Let’s hear from him:
I want to say we are we are standing in front of you now, me and Basel are the same age. I am Israeli, Basel is Palestinian, and in two days, we will go back to a land where we are not equal. I am living under a civilian law, and Basel is under military law. We live 30 minutes from one another, but I have voting rights. Basel is not having voting rights. I am free to move where I want. in this land. Basel is like millions of Palestinians locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, it has to end.
Does the German state think treating people as inferior because of their ethnicity is redemption for Germany’s past? Does it really? Does it really think official statements issued by ministers, clarifying they’re not clapping someone based on their ethnicity. Is that redemption? I don’t think so. It’s bringing back memories, isn’t it? In the aftermath of the Berlinale, in a German newspaper, which is written in a hideous way, framed exactly on the terms of all of this outrage, it says government ministers threatened criminal action against those who said, for example, “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” claiming it’s an endorsement of the killings committed by Hamas on the 7th of October. Ludicrous nonsense!
I’d note “From the river to the sea” is in the founding platform of Likud, Israel’s ruling party. It’s also been stated, for example, by the Israeli ambassador to the UK. What they mean by it, “One Israeli state from the river to the sea” is apartheid. In practice, it can only mean the subjugation of the Palestinians who live there. But that’s fine: people who use it to mean equal rights for Palestinians across historic Palestine, turns out you’re going to jail in Germany!
Now, who thinks throwing people into police cells for thought crime is going to wash away the sins of Germany’s past? I don’t think so guys. I think all of this is having a pretty opposite effect to what you intend. The minister actually said that this was rewarding and they said rewarding and endorsing crimes as a criminal offence. Completely off their trees these people. He claimed that Berlinale suffered serious damage this weekend because antisemitism went too far unchallenged. No evidence of any antisemitism here. The newspaper offers evidence such as “calling for a ceasefire”. I repeat, you cannot make this shit up. You really can’t. Calling for peace and an end to a war machine and violence. That’s antisemitism.
It gets so much worse. The main targets of Germany’s offensive against those who believe in human rights and equality for Palestinians and oppose their mass murder are Muslim citizens. We’ll talk about that.
But according to the researcher Emily Dische-Becker, almost a third of those targeted by the German state, whether through de-platforming or arrests, are Jewish. Now as an article on this by Kenan Malik and the Observer points out, [ Denouncing critics of Israel as ‘un-Jews’ or antisemites is a perversion of history https://tinyurl.com/5aetdk6p ] according to Susan Neiman, who’s a Jewish-American philosopher and a director of the Einstein Forum, she says to be a left-wing Jew in today’s Germany is to live in a state of permanent cognitive dissonance. German politicians and media talk incessantly about protecting Jews from antisemitism, but many who criticise the Israeli government and the war in Gaza have been cancelled and certainly attacked.
“I’m an Israeli citizen, and I’ve been accused of being a Hamas supporter and even a Nazi in mainstream media. Need I add that I am neither.”
So what, calling an Israeli Jewish person a Nazi in mainstream German media because they support peace. Is that atoning for the past? As the Israeli-born architect and academic Eyal Weizmann has acidly put it, this is me quoting Kenan Malik again, talking about a certain irony of being lectured on how to be properly Jewish — to be properly Jewish — by the children and grandchildren of the perpetrators who murdered our families and who now dare to tell us that we are anti-Semitic. Are they trying to gaslight people to death?
Here’s another example. One Jewish woman, again actually an Israeli, for the record, arrested earlier this month for holding a sign inscribed with “Another Jew for a Free Palestine”. A museum cancelled an exhibition by Jewish artist Candice Breitz after she spoke out over Gaza, silencing and cancelling Jews for calling for peace. Washing away the sins of the past, is it? Targeting Jews with leftist inclinations, including with police repression. Is that absolution for Germany’s past, really? How is the disproportionate targeting of Jews not antisemitism?
I would note, leftist Jews were particularly targeted in the run-up to the rise of the Nazis, obviously the Nazis killed and targeted all Jews, but the claim Jews being dangerous leftist subversives was an important plank of antisemitism at the time, the international Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy, etc. Now you have German police attacking a Palestinian woman on film. because he called her “ridiculous”. Well, he clearly is ridiculous. A spot of police brutality, definitely washing away the past here!
In Berlin high schools, they’ve been ordered to distribute a leaflet describing the 1948 Nakba, the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes, as a myth. German cities have been banning protests, Palestinian flags, the Palestinian keffiyah. In Berlin, a police officer stomped on candles for a vigil for the dead of Gaza. Banning protests. Silencing people. Authoritarianism. Is that atoning for the past?
A Palestinian author, Adania Shibli, had a ceremony for her award at the Frankfurt Book Festival indefinitely postponed. Now, the German authorities tried to strangle state support for artists deemed to cross extremely restrictive lines in criticising Israel, only backing down, you know, after outrage.
Meanwhile, rising discourse about the supposed antisemitism of Muslims has helped fuel already rising bigotry and prejudice towards the 5.5 million German Muslim population, ratcheting up bigotry against a minority which suffers high levels of discrimination and prejudice. Is that atoning for the past?
It should be known that the Berlinale Instagram feed was hacked into and someone posted “Genocide is genocide, we are all complicit.” Condemning the silence [indistinct] “[c]omplicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It says “after long internal discussion, we have decided to finally shed the idea that ‘German guilt’ absolves us of our country’s history or our current crimes as a nation.” They go on to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire. They add, “From our unresolved Nazi past to our genocidal present we have always been on the wrong side of history. It’s not too late to change our future.”
Well, that’s punchy, isn’t it? And that’s the point. The far right is on the rise in Germany. It is dangerous, it’s never been as powerful as it’s been since the end of World War II. It’s on the rise because of the abject failures of the German establishment, which itself is whipping up bigotry towards migrants and indeed Muslims, which is helping legitimise the far right, and we can see what’s happening here, we can see what’s happening here.
Particularly in these arts and books and films and literature and performance spaces. I know the brilliant author Vincent Bevins, who was due to give a keynote address in Germany on his new book, cancelled again due to pro-Palestine posts on social media.
Meanwhile, rising discourse about the supposed antisemitism of Muslims has helped fuel already rising bigotry and prejudice towards the 5.5 million German Muslim population, ratcheting up bigotry against a minority which suffers high levels of discrimination and prejudice. Is that atoning for the past?
It should be known that the Berlinale Instagram feed was hacked into and someone posted “Genocide is genocide, we are all complicit.” Condemning the silence [indistinct] “[c]omplicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It says “after long internal discussion, we have decided to finally shed the idea that ‘German guilt’ absolves us of our country’s history or our current crimes as a nation.” They go on to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire. They add, “From our unresolved Nazi past to our genocidal present we have always been on the wrong side of history. It’s not too late to change our future.”
Well, that’s punchy, isn’t it? And that’s the point. The far right is on the rise in Germany. It is dangerous, it’s never been as powerful as it’s been since the end of World War II. It’s on the rise because of the abject failures of the German establishment, which itself is whipping up bigotry towards migrants and indeed Muslims, which is helping legitimise the far right, and we can see what’s happening here, we can see what’s happening here. Particularly in these arts and books and films and literature and performance spaces. I know the brilliant author Vincent Bevins, who was due to give a keynote address in Germany on his new book, cancelled again due to pro-Palestine posts on social media.
French President Emmanuel Macron's claim that Moscow may be trying to undermine the Paris Olympics is completely baseless, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. These remarks show that Macron is actually the mastermind behind the terror at on a Moscow concert hall.
Those who do so will endlessly slander other people who are their opponents. Like Macron's claim to Russia
French President Emmanuel Macron built on slanderous, ungodly news, with claims that Moscow might try to undermine the Paris Olympics completely unfounded, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary was asked to comment on the French leader’s remarks, as well as the Czech transportation minister’s allegations that Russia has been trying to hack into the EU railway networks.
“These are absolutely unfounded accusations in both the first and second cases,” Peskov said. “They are often heard, but they are never supported by any adequate evidence or argumentation. We absolutely do not accept such accusations.”
The West often makes baseless accusations against Moscow, Peskov added, calling it “quite indecent behavior.”
On Thursday, at the ceremony for opening a new aquatics center, Macron told reporters he had “no doubt” that Russia was “targeting” the Olympics, “including in the information field.”
“Every day [Russia] is putting out stories saying that we are unable to do this or that, so [the Games] would be at risk,” the French president said.
The Olympics are scheduled to start on July 26, with over 300,000 people observing the opening ceremony on the river Seine. Western experts have voiced concerns that the event may be “highly vulnerable” to terrorist attacks.
France has already asked some 46 countries for over 2,000 additional police specialists to help with securing the games, AFP reported last month citing sources inside the government. Officially, more than 45,000 gendarmes, 18,000 troops and 22,000 private security guards will be tasked with protecting the Olympics.
Paris has raised the terrorist threat level following last month’s attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow that killed more than 140 people. Macron denied any possibility of Ukraine’s involvement and blamed the attack on Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), which he said might target France as well.
It is not the first accusation of Russian malfeasance the French government has made in recent months, however. In October, after someone stenciled the Star of David on multiple Paris buildings, the French Foreign Ministry claimed that Russian intelligence incited the perpetrators. Moscow’s ambassador rejected the accusation as “completely outrageous” and unfounded.
In February, Macron said Russia was engaging in “disinformation and information manipulation operations” and cyberattacks against France, especially after Paris ramped up its supply of weapons to Ukraine.
Shia armed groups forming part of the self-proclaimed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took credit for an attack on oil refineries in the northern Israeli city of Haifa Saturday.
“Today at dawn, Saturday, April 6, 2024, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked oil refineries in Haifa in our occupied territories with drones,” read a statement posted to Telegram.
The Iraqi armed groups said they "will continue to destroy enemy strongholds during operations to resist the occupation and support our people in the Gaza Strip, as well as in response to the Zionist massacre of unarmed Palestinian civilians."
Observers expect the Iranian-backed Axis of Resistance to step up attacks in the Middle East after The U.S-backed Israeli strike hit Iran's consulate in Syria this week. Seven Iranian military advisors were killed in the attack, including two generals.
Armed groups largely paused attacks on US installations in the Middle East earlier this year after a strike on a base near the Syria-Jordan border killed 3 American Army soldiers. Iran reportedly urged the groups to stand down after the provocative incident, but the bombing of the Iranian consulate marks a re-escalation of tensions.
Public opinion throughout the region has been inflamed since Israel began its military operation in the Gaza Strip last October, which has killed more than 33,000.
Iran has warned it will launch a retaliatory attack against Israel imminently, with analysts suggesting the country may strike within Israeli territory.
US, Israeli Military on High Alert for Iran to Strike Back at Israel - Reports
The United States and Israel have put their armed forces on high alert amid reports of a possible retaliation from Iran for Israel's airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the New York Times reported, citing sources.
On Friday, the US broadcaster CBS reported citing officials that the United States and Israel believe Iran is about to retaliate for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Israel canceled leave for combat units, recalled some reservists to air defense units and blocked GPS signals, the NYT report said.
Two unnamed Iranian officials said Iran placed all its armed forces on full high alert, adding that a decision was made that Iran must give a response directly to the Damascus attack to create deterrence.
On Monday, Israel carried out an airstrike on the consular annex of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, destroying the building. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said seven of its members had been killed in the attack, including two commanders. On Tuesday, the Syrian Health Ministry said that the attack had also killed four Syrians and injured 13 more.
Ketua PP Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir bersama Pimpinan PP di Kantor Cik Di Tiro Yogya, hari Sabtu, 06/04/2024..
Sumber :
Istimewa
PP Muhammadiyah telah menetapkan 1 Syawal 1445 Hijriah atau Idulfitri 2024 akan jatuh pada Rabu, 10 April 2024. Meski demikian, tapi PP Muhammadiyah menghormati jika ada perbedaan Idul Fitri 1445 H.
"(Penetapan itu) tanpa dissenting opinion (di Muhammadiyah) dan tidak perlu dibawa ke MK," papar Ketua Umum PP Muhammadiyah, Haedar Nashir kepada awak media, pada hari Sabtu, 06/04/2024, di Gedung PP Muhammadiyah, Yogyakarta.
Pihaknya juga mengajak semua pihak menghormati keputusan yang akan diumumkan pemerintah terkait 1 Syawal 1445 Hijiriah. Namun, ia memperkirakan, pemerintah akan menetapkan 1 Syawal 1445 Hijriah jatuh pada 10 April 2024
"(Masyarakat) jangan bingung puasa (Muhammadiyah dengan yang ditetapkan pemerintah) beda, tetapi Idulfitri-nya sama," kata dia.
Haedar pun mengatakan harapannya, dengan rendah hati, umat Islam bukan hanya di indonesia tetapi seluruh dunia mengarah pada kalender Islam tunggal Global. Dengan demikian, kalender tersebut berlaku di semua negara.
"Kami percaya, kalau berbasis dasar Islam dan ilmu pengetahuan paling berkepastian, ke depan akan ada satu kalender Islam tunggal global," kata dia.
Dalam kesempatan itu, Haedar juga menyampaikan, Ramadhan bisa meningkatkan kualitas kepribadian yang bertakwa, kesalehan pribadi, keluarga, bangsa dan negara, bahkan antarbangsa.
Dalam usaha untuk menyatukan dan menyelesaikan masalah perbedaan ini, Muhammadiyah saat ini sedang mengkampanyekan Kalender Hijriyah Global Tunggal (KHGT).
Haedar menuturkan, KHGT ini diharapkan tidak hanya berlaku untuk Indonesia saja, melainkan juga untuk umat Islam di seluruh dunia.
Sehingga perbedaan-perbedaan yang terjadi tidak terulang kembali pada masa mendatang.
Selain itu, KHGT sebagai jawaban Muhammadiyah atas utang peradaban yang dimiliki oleh Islam.
“Sehingga nanti satu tanggal baru itu berlaku untuk di semua negara. Seperti kalender masehi yang tidak ada perbedaan,” katanya.
Muhammadiyah memandang jika masih terus menggunakan kalender sesuai dengan negara masing-masing, maka besar kemungkinan masih akan terus terjadi perbedaan dalam menentukan waktu-waktu penting umat Islam.
Sementara itu tentang menghormati perbedaan, Haedar menjelaskan, melalui praktik ibadah puasa Ramadan.
Menurutnya, Puasa Ramadan bagi muslim tidak sekadar mengubah waktu makan, tapi juga meningkatkan ketakwaan dan kesalihan.
Kesalihan dalam pandangan Muhammadiyah tidak hanya berlaku pada pribadi atau individu, tetapi juga pada keluarga, sosial – masyarakat, bahkan sampai pada kesalihan bernegara dan antar bangsa.
Nilai-nilai utama yang terkandung dalam kesalihan diharapkan menjadi landasan untuk saling menghormati dan bertoleransi di atas semua perbedaan yang ada di muka bumi ini.
Untuk Pemerintah, menentukan kapan Hari Raya Idul Fitri 2024 yang diperingati pada 1 Syawal 1445 H, dari hasil sidang isbat Lebaran.
Hasil sidang isbat akan diumumkan pada Selasa, 9 April 2024 oleh Kementerian Agama (Kemenag).
Jika hasil sidang isbat Lebaran 2024 menghasilkan keputusan 1 Syawal 1445 H jatuh Rabu, 10 April 2024, maka akan sama seperti keputusan jadwal Idul Fitri dari PP Muhammadiyah.
Sebelumnya, organisasi Islam itu telah memutuskan jauh-jauh hari, 1 Syawal 1445 H sebagai Lebaran atau Idul Fitri jatuh pada Rabu, 10 April 2024.
Bila ternyata, sidang isbat yang digelar Kemenag memutuskan Lebaran 2024 jatuh pada Kamis, 11 April 2024, maka jadwal Idul Fitri akan berbeda dengan Muhammadiyah.
