Monday March 31, 2025

Mogadishu (HOL) – Somalia’s moderate Islamist group, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’a (ASWJ), observed Eid al-Fitr on Monday, a day after most of the country and the wider Muslim world celebrated the festival marking the end of Ramadan.

In Mogadishu, hundreds gathered for Eid prayers led by Sheikh Mohamed Shakir, chairman of the Tawfiq Party and a prominent ASWJ leader. He was joined by his followers and former officials from the Galmudug administration in commemorating what they recognized as the first day of Eid.

Similar scenes played out in Garowe, where local religious scholars paraded through the city streets praising the Prophet Muhammad.

Reports indicate that ASWJ supporters and affiliated scholars also held prayers and celebrations in towns such as Beledweyne, Guri’el, Abudwak, and Galkacyo.

The divergence in celebration dates underscores a recurring issue in Somalia, where differing moon sighting methodologies often lead to divisions over the start and end of Islamic months.

Somalia remains among the few Muslim-majority countries where such inconsistencies are prevalent, raising questions about the need for a unified national religious authority to standardize lunar calendar observances.