Muslims in Kenya row over Ramadhan

In an announcement on Monday, March 11, Sheikh Athman Abdulhalim Hussein, the Chief Kadhi of Kenya, said that, Tuesday, March 12, is officially the first day of Ramadhan, following the sighting of the crescent moon in various counties of Kenya.

But his announcement came a little late since the majority of the Muslims in the East African country had started observing the fast on Monday following the sighting of the moon in different Muslim countries.

On Sunday, mosques opened for Taraweh prayers, signalling the start of Ramadhan much as the Chief Kadhi had hours earlier issued a statement, urging Muslims to wait for his guidance before beginning to fast the holy month of Ramadhan. 

“We have been given the authority to guide Muslims on the issue of moonsighting… all Muslims should wait for our guidance and announcement before the start of Ramadhan,” Sheikh Abdulhalim told The Nation on Sunday.

At Nairobi’s Jamia mosque, Muslims congregated on Sunday evening for the Taraweh prayers after which the imam, Sheikh Jamaludin Osman, told the faithful that it was not necessary to wait for the announcement by the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) since the moon had been sighted in several countries.

SUPKEM’s moonsighting committee met on Monday evening in Mombasa before Sheikh Abdulhalim announced the official start of Ramadhan. Had they failed to sight the moon, Ramadhan in Kenya would officially start on Wednesday.

Disagreements on the start of Ramadhan and celebration of Eid-al-Fitri are not new among Kenyan Muslims. For years, the Chief Kadhi has insisted on Kenyans first sighting the moon in their country before deciding when to start and end the fasting. On the other hand, his rivals argue that since there is nothing like a moon for Kenya or anywhere else, whenever it is sighted anywhere in the world, they have to follow suit because the moon is one in the world.