Daryan Says Eid al-Fitr Friday, Army Steps Up Security Measures for Occasion
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan on Thursday announced that Friday, July 17 is the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, as the army declared that it will step up its security measures in all regions for the occasion.
“We have verified according to the rules of Sharia that tomorrow, Friday ... is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” Daryan, who heads Lebanon's highest Sunni Muslim religious authority Dar al-Fatwa, announced in a statement.
He hoped Eid will bring all Lebanese and Muslims “prosperity, security and serenity.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Higher Islamic Shiite Council and the office of the official representative in Lebanon of Iran's supreme guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that Eid will begin on Saturday.
The juristic committee of the institution of late Lebanese Shiite scholar Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah had announced that Eid would begin Friday, citing astronomical calculations.
According to Muslim tradition, it is the sighting with the naked eye of the new moon that signals the start of Eid al-Fitr.
The army meanwhile issued a statement announcing that heightened security measures would be taken during the days of Eid al-Fitr in all Lebanese regions.
“Army units have started implementing extraordinary security measures around places of worship, key roads, shopping centers and touristic sites,” it said.
“The measures involve deployment of troops, manned and mechanized patrols, and checkpoints,” the military added.
Y.R.
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