Morocco to Celebrate Eid Al-Fitr May 13

Rabat – Moroccan astronomer Hicham El Aissaoui shared his astronomical calculations, predicting that Eid Al-Fitr in Morocco will take place on Thursday, May 13.

The feast of breaking the fast marks the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar.

The astronomer forecasts that the first day of Shawwal will be on May 13, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Aissaoui expects that most Islamic countries will celebrate Eid Al-Fitr together, including Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has yet to announce the date of the moon sighting. The ministry will reveal the official date of Eid Al-Fitr based on the sighting of the crescent moon.

Traditionally, Muslims worldwide begin the celebration of Eid Al-Fitr in the morning at the mosque.

However last year, COVID-19 prevented Muslims from going to mosques to perform “salat al-Eid” or Eid prayers due to lockdown measures. Citizens are waiting for confirmation whether they can perform Eid prayers this year.

In 2020, Moroccan citizens and residents prayed at home during Ramadan, including taraweeh prayers, after the country closed mosques as part of the preventive measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. The closure of mosques prevented Eid prayers.

In late 2020, Morocco eased lockdown measures, reopening the majority of mosques for daily prayers.

During this year’s Ramadan, Morocco allowed citizens and residents to perform daily prayers in the mosque but maintained a night curfew that started after sunset.

The night curfew prevented citizens from performing taraweeh in mosques after the government warned that the epidemiological situation was worrying due to the emergence of new variants of COVID-19.

Recently, Morocco confirmed two cases of the Indian variant and previously recorded dozens of cases of the British variant.

The North African country confirmed 512, 285 COVID-19 cases,  including 499, 089 recoveries, and 9, 038 deaths.

Tomorrow, May 6, Morocco’s government will convene to extend the state of emergency. The cabinet renews the measure every month as part of the actions to inhibit the increase of COVID-19 cases and to control the spread of the new variants. The current state of emergency will expire on May 10.

Some local reports quoted government sources, suggesting that Morocco will ease the nighttime curfew allowing cafes and restaurants to operate until 11 p.m.

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