PRAGUE -- Several Shi'ite clerics have disagreed with Iranian Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the date of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day Islamic
celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.
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Khamenei speaking during Fitr prayers, marking end of Ramadan |
The completion of the holy fasting month is
traditionally heralded by a moon sighting and announced by senior clerics.
Jurist and theologian Ahmad Ghabel has told Radio Farda that while the supreme
leader "can dictate the end of Ramadan," the founder of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini "would usually defer to the clergy."
Khamenei announced that the fast finished on September 20, while a number of
prominent Shi'ite clerics, such as Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, have
said the proper date for the ending of Ramadan was September 21. Sunnis and
Shi'a often end their month-long fast on different days, but a Shi'ite conflict
with the supreme leader over the date is unprecedented in Iran.
The dispute led many Iranians -- namely those that support the "green movement"
that backed presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi and who continue to
protest against the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad -- to observe one
extra day of Ramadan.
Copyright (c) 2009 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
... Payvand News - 09/25/09 ... --
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