The festival of Eid-ul-Azha, which is marked on Zil Hajj 10, will be celebrated in Saudi Arabia on July 9 as the moon of the new Arabic month has been sighted in the Kingdom, according to media reports.
Oman also confirmed the new crescent's sighting.
Hence, the first day of Zil Hajj starts on Thursday, while the Day of Arafah — marked one day before Eid and observed as a day of repentance for Muslims — will fall on July 8 this year.
Eid-ul-Azha is the second largest religious festival for Muslims across the world.
On this day, Muslims slaughter livestock to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's test of faith.
In Bangladesh, a meeting of the National Moon Sighting Committee will be held on Thursday to fix the date of Eid-ul-Azha.
The meeting will be held at the office of the Islamic Foundation at Baitul Mukarram at 7:15pm with State Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammad Faridul Haque Khan in the chair, the Islamic Foundation said on Wednesday.
The committee will announce the date of Eid-ul-Azha after reviewing information about the sighting of the Zilhaj moon.
People have been requested to inform the committee over the following phone and fax numbers if they see the Zil Hajj moon anywhere in the Bangladesh skies.
The telephone numbers are 02-223381725, 02-41050912, 02-41050916 and 02-41050917, while the fax numbers are 02-223383397 and 02-9555951.
However, Bangladesh traditionally celebrates the Eid festivals a day after those are observed in Saudi Arabia among other Middle Eastern countries.
