Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom has stated that the first day of Eid Al-Fitr for the year will fall on coming Friday.

President Maumoon, who is also a renowned astrologist released a statement today in which he stated that after the sun sets on the 20th of April, the moon will still remain visible for a while. Hence he stated that since the moon will remain visible in most islamic nations, the first of Eid Al-Fitr will be on Friday, 21st of April. He noted that the sun will set at 6:11pm on Thursday in the Maldives, while the moon will set at 6:27pm leaving behind a 16 minute period during which the moon will be visible in the Maldives.

Hence, he noted that the first of Shawwal will fall on 21st April, as per astrological calculations.

However, the International Astronomical Center (IAC) had stated that it is highly unlikely that the moon will be visible on Thursday night, though they did not completely rule out the possibility.