17,  Aug 2012: Muslims in the UAE and Saudi Arabia will celebrate Eid Al Fitr on Sunday as Shawal moon was not sighted on Friday evening, the moon sighting committees said.

A noted UAE astronomer had predicted last week that Eid Al Fitr will fall on Sunday 19th August.

Astronomy researcher and General Superviser of the Sharjah Planetarium Ibrahim Jarwan insisted that calculations showed that the crescent moon marking the beginning of the month of Shawwal will rise on Friday 17th August at 7.54pm. As the moonrise takes place 65 minutes after the sunset on that day, it will be impossible to see it because it will not be there on the horizon.

The ideal time to watch the crescent moon ranges between 10 to 30 minutes after the sunset on a day, explained Al Jarwan.

Thus Saturday will be the 30th day that completes the month of Ramadan, and the crescent will be visible on the horizon 17 minutes after the sunset, he added.

If Eid Al Fitr falls on Sunday, people in the UAE will enjoy a 5-day Eid holiday starting from Friday and ending on Tuesday. Work will, then, resume on Wednesday.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman have already declared 10-day Eid holidays.

Muslims in other Gulf Arab countries are still waiting for announcement from their respective moon sighting committees. Most of Arab countries celebrate Eid on the same day.