Dr. Mohamed Shaheem, the Chancellor of the Islamic University of Maldives (IUM), has said that Muslims cannot celebrate Eid ul-Fitr after only 28 days of Ramadan.

This comes after Maldivians in Sri Lanka celebrated Eid on Thursday, after only 28 days of Ramadan had passed in that country, on the instruction of the Maldives Islamic ministry.

While Sri Lanka began Ramadan two days after Maldives, the ministry instructed Maldivians in Sri Lanka to celebrate Eid on Friday, the same day as in Maldives, and fulfill the remaining fasts afterward as ‘qada’ or missed fasts.

In a Facebook post, Dr. Shaheem said that it not permissible to celebrate Eid after adhering to 28 out of the 30 days of Ramadan. He said that Muslims should fast according to the date of the nation they are in and that they should offer Eid prayers according to the instruction of the authorities of that nation.

Both India and Sri Lanka celebrated Eid on Saturday, and the Ministry has received much backlash over the issue.