The UAE has declared public sector holidays starting from August 28 to September 3 to mark Eid Al Fitr, said the emirate news agency WAM.

Humaid Mohammed Al Qattami, Minister of Education, issued a circular in his capacity as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, the WAM said.

All business establishments in the private sector will observe the first and second days of the month of Shawwal as the Eid-al-Fitr holidays, he stated.

The workers will be entitled to two full paid days on this occasion, as per the decree signed by Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Crescent Observation Project (ICOP) said that Eid al-Fitr of this Hijri year 1432 will be on August 31 in most Muslim countries, considering that sighting of the moon is a condition for the beginning of the month of Shawwal.

In most of the Muslim countries which started Ramadan on August 1, they will have their 29th Ramadan and on that day the moon sighting is impossible from all regions of the Islamic world, such as North and Central Asia including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, northern and central Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Levant and North Africa, it said.

As for the rest of the Arab and Muslim world, the moon will be out in those areas after sunset, but the duration is too short that it does not allow to see the crescent by the eye or by using telescopes.

As for countries that do not require the sighting of the crescent moon, Eid will be on August 30, the ICOP said.