Ashura to be celebrated on 9 August

Ashura will be celebrated in Bangladesh on 9 August as the moon of Muharram month was not sighted in the sky.

Therefore, the holy month of Muharram will start from Sunday.

The National Moon Sighting Committee took the decision at a meeting held at the conference room of Islamic Foundation (IF) at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on Friday (29 July). Awal Howlader, additional secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, presided over the meeting.

According to the press release of the Islamic Foundation, the meeting reviewed the information received from all the district administrations, Islamic Foundation head office, divisional and district offices, Bangladesh Meteorological Department and Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO) regarding the sighting of the moon in the holy month of Muharram of 1444 Hijri. There was no news of the sighting of the moon of the month of Muharram in the sky of Bangladesh this evening. As a result, the holy Ashura will be celebrated on 9 August.

Ashura is a public holiday in Bangladesh on 10th of Hijri Muharram. On this day Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA), the grandson of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), was martyred in the desert of Karbala on the banks of the river Euphrates. Since then, the tragic event of Karbala has been observed in the Muslim world as a symbol of sacrifice and mourning.