Muslims Around the World Start Eid al-Fitr Celebrations

Posted August 31st, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
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Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Observers of Islam in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh started marking the holiday on Wednesday by gathering in mosques for prayers.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country, began Eid al-Fitr celebrations on Wednesday. Muslims in several Arab and non-Arab countries such as Egypt, Syria, and Afghanistan starting marking the holiday on Tuesday.

The date of Eid al-Fitr changes every year and is decided according to the position of the moon, which is interpreted differently in different Muslim countries.

Eid al-Fitr celebrates the purification achieved during Ramadan — a month of sunrise-to-sunset fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Eid is the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal and a major holiday.