Muslims in Iran and some other countries celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, with worshippers across the country gathering en masse to hold prayers in the morning to mark the festive occasion.
The Office of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei announced that Tuesday was Eid al-Fitr after receiving multiple reports from reliable religious scholars and credible sources on the sighting of the crescent moon.
The Eid prayers have over the years been led by Ayatollah Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Prayer Grounds in Tehran but the event was canceled for the third consecutive year as part of measures put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This year’s prayers were held in the open campus of the University of Tehran with a large number of participants as well as in other mosques in the capital under strict health protocols.
Naqareh drums were played at the holy shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam, in Mashhad, Iran, on Tuesday morning. In the capital, Tehran, people gathered at the University of Tehran to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers.
Meanwhile, three countries, including Afghanistan, Niger, and Mali, marked Eid al-Fitr on Sunday.
Dozens of Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, announced that Monday marks the beginning of the holy occasion.
Along with Iran, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, as well as Iraq celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday.
Muslims follow a lunar calendar and differences in the sighting of the moon can lead to communities marking the occasion on different days.
