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Calendar of Important Islamic Dates

IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATES  

2007-2008 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATES

(2008-2011 dates are included at the end of this note)

Please Note: Dates are subject to local sightings of the new moon.

Recognizing these holy days not only brings awareness of the diversity within the student population, but also instills pride in Muslim students who celebrate them. Muslim students may be embarrassed or shy to acknowledge these practices or holy days, which are not yet a part of the greater culture. A major benefit of living in such an open and multi-cultural region as the Bay Area is that people of all backgrounds and cultures can share and enjoy each other's similarities as well as differences. We hope this information will be useful.

About the Islamic Calendar:
The Islamic calendar (or Hijri calendar) is a purely lunar calendar. It contains 12 months that are based on the motion of the moon, and because 12 synodic months are only 12 x 29.53= 354.36 days, the Islamic calendar is consistently shorter than a tropical year, and therefore it shifts approximately 10-12 days every year with respect to the Gregorian calendar.

January 29, 2007
Aashura
Ashura falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunnis, Ashura commemorates the exodus of Moses from Egypt, and is usually observed by completing an optional fast as practiced by the Prophet Muhammad. For Shi'as it marks the tragic anniversary of the death of the Prophet's grandson, Husain at the hands of Ummayyad ruler, Yazid. The day is marked with mourning and even enactments of the tragic event.

September 13 - October 11, 2007
Ramadan (Islamic month of Fasting)
Ramadan is an Islamic month during which Muslims (believers in Islam) fast daily from dawn to sunset as part of an effort towards self-purification and moral excellence. Ramadan is believed to be the month, in which, the first verses of the Quran (divine Scripture & Final Testament) were revealed by God to Prophet Mohammad between 610 and 633 CE.

October 12, 2007
Eid ul-Fitr (Festival of the Breaking of the Fast)
Holiday occurring after the completion of Ramadan, lasting three days during which Muslims celebrate with special prayers followed by community celebrations.

December 18, 2007 - December 21, 2007
Hajj (Annual Pilgrimage to Mecca)
The Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca, consists of several ceremonies meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, such as submission, brotherhood, and unity, and to commemorate the trials of the Prophet Abraham and his family. Required once in a Muslim’s lifetime, over two million Muslims perform the pilgrimage annually.

December 20, 2007
Eid-ul-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice)
Holiday occurring on the third day of the Hajj, lasting four days. It commemorates the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, who was replaced by a lamb.

January 9, 2008
Islamic New Year (1429 A.H.*)
Marks the beginning of a New Year in the Islamic calendar. There are an estimated 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, making Muslims one of the world's largest religious group in the United States. There are an estimated 6-8 million Muslims in America, making Muslims the second largest religious group in the United States. While the majority of American Muslims were born in this country, they are from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds: African-American, South Asian, Arab, African, Persian, and the remaining are European, Southeast Asian and Turkish.

Upcoming Important Dates:

2008 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATES
Aashura: January 18, 2008 Ramadan: September 1 - September 29, 2008 Eid ul-Fitr: September 30, 2008 Hajj: December 6 - December 9, 2008 Eid ul-Adha: December 8, 2008 Islamic New Year: December 29, 2008 (1430 A.H.)

2009 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATES
Aashura: January 7, 2009 Ramadan: August 21 - September 19, 2009 Eid ul-Fitr: September 20, 2009 Hajj: November 25 - November 28, 2009 Eid ul-Adha: November 27, 2009 Islamic New Year: December 18, 2009 (1431 A.H.)

2010 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATES
Aashura: December 27, 2009 Ramadan: August 11 - September 8, 2010 Eid ul-Fitr: September 9, 2010 Hajj: November 14 - November 17, 2010 Eid ul-Adha: November 16, 2010 Islamic New Year: December 7, 2010 (1432 A.H.)

2011 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATES
Aashura: December 16, 2010 Ramadan: August 1 - August 29, 2011 Eid ul-Fitr: August 30, 2011 Hajj: November 4 - November 7, 2011 Eid ul-Adha: November 6, 2011 Islamic New Year: November 26, 2011 (1433 A.H.)

*After Hijrah. (Hijrah means "migration" in Arabic. This refers to the migration the Prophet Muhammad made from Mecca to Medina in the year 610 C.E., which marks the beginning of the Islamic Calendar.)

Please Note: Dates are subject to local sightings of the new moon.