Nyepi and Ramadan Observances Align This Year in Indonesia
DENPASAR, LELEMUKU.COM - Two major religious observances coincided in Indonesia on Wednesday as Nyepi, a Balinese Hindu festival, shut down most activity on Bali island for 24 hours, and Muslims prepared to begin the Ramadan month of fasting and prayer. In a rare alignment of these observances, whose dates shift each year because the religions follow lunar calendars, Balinese Hindus abstained from work, travel, entertainment and using electricity during Nyepi, which fell on Wednesday and was to last until Thursday morning. Muslims, who are Indonesia’s religious majority but a minority on Bali, meanwhile were expecting to start observing Ramadan on Wednesday night, followed by their first full day of dawn-to-dusk fasting the next day. To respect both faiths, interfaith leaders and local authorities in Bali agreed on some measures. Muslims were asked to perform their prayers at home or at nearby mosques without loudspeakers or bright lights, while businesses were banned from ad...