Moonsighting a calculated controversy
Posted by Al-llama on November 7, 2006
Celebrating the end of Ramadan this year, Muslims in the West were divided once again over the dates on which the months of Ramadan and Shawwal officially begin. The division is caused by a mixture of community politics and differing opinions in Islamic jurisprudence, and is a source of much controversy, debate, and domestic disputes.
Young Australian Muslim Jameel Haydar described one such disturbance to Satirical Muslim.
“I always pray Eid at Lakemba with my cousins. Those people follow the moon but, wahyet Allah it’s wrong, bro! Harom, my cousin was fasting on Eid and my uncles ripped her apart!”
Another young man described a confrontation with his father.
“He rang me up on ‘their’ Eid and said ‘I demand that you break your fast, young man! Eat some sweets right now! Put it in your mouth and chew it! I want to hear you chew it!’”
But the fallout is not just confined to relatives fasting and breaking their fast on different days. Co-workers who take different days off work to celebrate Eid can confuse their employers and project an image of disharmony in front of the infidels.
And now, the controversy is spilling over to other months of the Islamic calendar. Local leaders are outraged that some members of their congregations are celebrating other months, such as Safar, on dates which differ from those of the $5 Hijri wall calendar.
One such Imam protested to Satirical Muslim in righteous anger.
“I know it has no particular significance in Islam, but it is the principle of it. Why should the debate be confined to Ramadan and Eid only? We need to fight [this] all year round!”
Traditionally, the first day of every month in the Islamic calendar is determined by a local lunar sighting with the naked eye, which is regarded as the Sunnah (way) of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). In the last few decades, however, astronomical calculations have become popular due to their convenience and scientific accuracy.
Other methods that are used include global moonsighting from any place around the world; global moonsighting from Kazakhstan in specific; and flipping a coin for one of two contested dates. These methods, once unique to Muslims in the West, are slowly gaining traction in predominantly Muslim countries.
Meanwhile, the controversy is expected to flare up again for the day of Eid Ul-Adha (may it be a blessed one for all).
