Moon madness

The announcement, at around a quarter to eleven on Sept 30, that the Eid moon had indeed been seen took nearly everyone by surprise. The Ruet-e-Hilal committee had previously indicated there had been no sighting. In households across much of the country, people scrambled to prepare for the unexpected occasion. It is believed the decision had more to do with politics than the actual presence of the new moon in the skies. Indeed, the prime minister has stated the government strongly believed that as a token of national harmony, Eid should be observed on one day across the country. This did indeed happen. It is understood that the Ruet-e-Hilal committee was persuaded to accept accounts from NWFP that the moon had been spotted, rather than have a situation, as has happened in previous years, when the province ended the month of fasting a day ahead of people elsewhere. Inevitably, the whole matter has triggered controversy, centred chiefly around the fact that as per Islamic tradition, the actual sighting of the moon is a necessary pre-requisite to the announcement of Eid.

But, it is time we woke up to the fact that we live in the 21st century. Accurate predictions about the lunar cycle are possible. These are used in many Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia, to announce the date for Eid well before the day itself. This makes for far greater efficiency and planning on many fronts. It also eliminates the wrangling we see each time the committee, dominated by clerics vying for their few minutes of television time, meets. Perhaps it is time we too moved into the age of science and embraced the advantages these advances offer us.

Posted on: 4-October-2008

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Source: The News (http://www.thenews.com.pk)

Comments on this article

On Monday, 6-October-2008 at 8:10:32 AM, Hamza Mustafai said:
Actually all muslims of the world should have EID on one day. There is nothing wrong in it and it is not impossible.