UPDATE: Eid ul Fitr to be observed on Saturday in India.
UPDATE: Eid al Fitr 2015 will be celebrated on Friday in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and several other Muslim nations, while Muslims in India will celebrate the festival, where it is referred to as Eid ul Fitr, on Saturday, depending on the moon-sighting.
The moon was sighted in Saudi Arabia on Thursday and the kingdom's Supreme Court announced that Eid al Fitr will fall on Friday, according to Al Arabiya.
See PHOTOS of Muslims Celebrating Eid al Fitr Around the World
In the United States, too, the first day of Shawwal, which is marked as Eid al Fitr, will begin on Friday, according to the Fiqh Council of North America.
In Dubai, the Eid ul Fitr prayers will begin at 6 am local time, according to Emirates 24/7 News.
In Qatar, the Eid prayers will being at 5.08 am local time.
Tomorrow Friday 17th July 2015 is the first day of Eid. *Eid prayer starts at 5:08am. #Qatar
— Qatar Prayer Times (@QatarPrayer) July 16, 2015
In Oman, however, the first day of Eid will be marked on Saturday, according to the Times of Oman.
ORIGINAL STORY
The Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia has asked Muslims in the country to look for the crescent moon on Thursday, which, if sighted, will mean that Eid al Fitr will be celebrated on Friday, 17 July.
However, if the moon is not sighted on Thursday, then Muslims will complete 30 days of Ramadan fasting and celebrate Eid al Fitr on Saturday.
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Saudi Arabia's top court has appointed committees across the kingdom to track reports of moon-sighting and has urged citizens to report sighting of the crescent moon on the 29th day of Ramadan on Thursday, Arab News reported.
The United Arab Emirates has also called on all the Sharia courts in the country to report sightings of the crescent moon on Thursday, and the justice ministry has set up a moon-sighting committee which will meet in Abu Dhabi after evening prayers on 16 July, according to Emirates 24/7.
Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judiciary Council will also meet on Thursday to take stock of moon-sighting reports.
Muslims across the world are hoping to see the moon on Thursday, so as to celebrate Eid al Fitr on Friday.
Several moon-sighting bodies have forecast that the crescent moon may be sighted on Thursday and have thus predicted that Eid al Fitr 2015 will be celebrated on Friday.
Muslims in many nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom usually follow announcements of moon-sighting in Saudi Arabia.
The Fiqh Council of North America has also made astronomical calculations to state that Eid al fitr will fall on Friday, 17 July.
In India, where the festival is commonly known as Eid ul-Fitr, Muslims celebrate it a day after it is marked in Saudi Arabia, and Indian Muslims are likely to celebrate Eid on Saturday.
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