From Deseret News archives:
Muslims using astronomy to pinpoint holidays
She and her husband bought new clothes and gifts for their three children and planned a special family meal. But there was one obstacle to starting the celebration: Leaders of the two local mosques couldn't agree when the feast, called Eid al-Fitr, should begin.
"We would just be sitting up at night waiting to hear the decision," said Ansari, who lives in Herndon, Va., and is editor of America's Muslim Family magazine.
The Muslim practice of following a strict lunar calendar, requiring a naked-eye sighting of the new moon to start a holiday the next morning, has divided the Muslim community on its most sacred days. Now a scholarly panel that advises American Muslims on religious law is trying to end the confusion.
The Fiqh Council of North America announced last week that it would no longer rely on moon sightings to determine the start of holidays and would instead use astronomical calculations. The panel released an Islamic calendar that runs through 2011, hoping Muslims in the United States and Canada can be persuaded to trade the old way for the new.
"There will be a lot of resentment at first," said Khalid Shaukat, an astronomer and research physicist with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, who calculated the calendar for the Fiqh Council. "But I expect that as the time goes on and we educate them, people will see the benefit of this and understand that what may seem like a new approach to them is not against Islamic jurisprudence."
The date of the Eid is based on the Hadith, traditions taken from the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The prophet taught that the holiday marking the end of Ramadan comes the morning after a nighttime sighting of the new moon.
Under the most conservative interpretation, two credible witnesses with expertise in Islamic sharia law have to see the crescent moon with the naked eye before their observations can be accepted, said Sulayman Nyang, an expert on Islam at Howard University.
But the Fiqh Council contends that the prophet used direct sightings only because no other method was reliable in his lifetime. "Now, we know scientifically whether the moon is there, even if it is not sightable because of the weather conditions," said Muzammil Siddiqi, the council chairman.
Recent comments
I hope every Muslim should realise that crescent moonsighting...
Fazle Elahi | Aug. 20, 2009 at 3:42 a.m.
Assalam Alaikum,
The selfless efforts of the moonsighting...
Abdulbari Y. Afinni | Sept. 3, 2008 at 5:58 a.m.
Assalamu Alaykum w Rahmato ALLAH w Barakatoh w ba'd:
I thank you so...
Murad Al-Ma'aytah | Aug. 28, 2008 at 1:22 p.m.
- Full gas tanks may stop plane crashes 12:13 p.m.
- Giving heart to women who exercise 11:55 a.m.
- 4 police officers shot dead in Wash. 11:50 a.m.
- Leno losing his audience to DVR 11:43 a.m.
- Northeast scallopers decry cuts 11:29 a.m.
- $ needed to ease U.N. climate deal 11:17 a.m.
- Sen.: Troop hike must help forces 11:12 a.m.
- 'New Moon' keeps top box office spot 11:05 a.m.
- Filipino clan claims innocence 10:51 a.m.
- 'Saddam Channel' hits Iraq TV 10:36 a.m.
- Hall mouths off about hate of Utah
- Cougars beat Utes in overtime
- BYU is champion of the state
- Cave to be sealed with body inside
- Credit Coug defense for win
- Cougar defense rose to occasion
- Field goals, penalties doomed Utes
- Jones' joy for life remembered
- Banged up Jazz get best of Blazers
- Man dies in dirt bike crash
- Cougars beat Utes in overtime
434 - Hall mouths off about hate of Utah
365 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
116 - Cave to be sealed with body inside
115 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
113 - Rivalry Week is highly profane
89 - BYU is champion of the state
81 - Hall's legacy measured today
76 - Y. focused on 10-win season
73
A comprehensive listing of missionary reunions being held this week.
I wanted to tell them not to go. I dropped subtle hints. "My money is on...
When I was a kid, I worshipped my grandpa. He was undoubtedly my hero....
I find it quite interesting. Utah fans and players can say and do anything...
If Max hates EVERYONE associated with Utah and ALL their fans, I can only...
Well done Utah! I couldn't believe how well your d played. Max had a hard...
1984 NC has an asterisk attached. BYU beat a 6-5 mediocre Michigan team to...
Max's comments were pretty stupid. Yes, I would be very mad if some Ute fans...
really BYU fans? No one cares about BYU anywhere...period. The only people...
TCU 4th, 4th BYU 16th, 14th Utah n/a, 25th. Win your bowl games fella's,...
Mulan is my favorite Disney animation flick. I'm looking forward to this...
Just in case we did not hear it enough. George is Wide...
So sorry for your loss. May God watch over all of you at this time. He...


