Eid al-Adha Celebrated with Religious Fervor in North America
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Sacramento, CA: With a few exceptions, Eid al-Adha was celebrated throughout the United States on Tuesday, August 21, in accordance with the Hijra calendar announced by the Fiqah Council of North America and adopted by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Another apparent reason for Eid al-Adha celebration on Tuesday was the performance of Hajj in Mecca on Monday and celebration of Eid ul Adha the following day.
However, few mosques celebrated Eid al-Adha on Wednesday, August 22, following the moon sighting decision of the Central Hilal Committee of North America which announced on August 12 that the first of Zhul Hijjah begins on August 13 and therefore Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 22. Similarly, the Chicago Hilal (Moon Sighting) Committee had also announced that Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 22.
The New York-based Central Hilal Committee of North America has a network of moon sighting committees in 21 American states. These committees receive testimony of witnessesabout the sighting of the new Islamic months and inform the Central Hilal Committee which announces sighting of the new moon for every Islamic month.
An extensive internet search found that most of the mosques in the United States celebrated Eid al-Adha with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
For example, in Texas, Virginia, California and Florida the following mosques celebrated Eid Al Adha on Tuesday: Mansfield Islamic Center (MIC), Arlington, Islamic Center of Irving, Islamic Center of San Antonio T, Islamic Association of Northern, Masjid Bilal, Houston and Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH),
Islamic Center Northern Virginia, Islamic Center of Virginia, Richmond, VA, All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center, Sterling VA, Islamic Center of Irvine, Islamic Center of Southern California, Islamic Center of San Diego, Salam Center Sacramento CA, South Bay Islamic Association, San Jose CA, Masjid Noorul Islam San Francisco CA, Muslim Community Association, Santa Clara, CA, Islamic Center of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville, The Islamic Center of South Florida (ICOSF), Pompano Beach,Islamic Center of Osceola County, Masjid Taqwa Kissimmee.
Other mosques which celebrated Eid al-Adha on Tuesday included: The Islamic Cultural Center of Greater Chicago, Islamic center of Long Island, Islamic Society of Central New York and Islamic Center of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Mosques which celebrated Eid Al Adha on Wednesday (August 22) included: Islamic Center of Richmond, Henrico VA, Muslim Center of New York, and Islamic Society of East Bay (ISEB) Fremont CA.
Meanwhile, the Hilal Committee of Toronto had announced on August 12, 2018 that Monday August 13 will be the first day of Zul-Hijjah and 10th Zul-Hijjah (Eid al-Adha) will be on August 22. In Canada several mosques follow the Hilal Committee recommendation while others follow the astronomical based calendar of the Fiqah Council.
It may be recalled that in a bid to end the controversy over the beginning of the month of Ramadan and Eid celebrations, the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), in August 2006, announced a 20-year Islamic calendar based on astronomical calculations abandoning the traditional method of actual sighting of the crescent.
However, after 12 years, ISNA’s bid to create unity in the American Muslim community for Eid celebrations did not succeed, since many prominent Islamic centers and mosques in the US and Canada have refused to adopt ISNA’s Islamic calendar and followed the traditional method of announcing the beginning of the Islamic months locally on the basis of the sighting of crescent. These include: Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC), Hilal Committee of Greater Chicago and the Committee for Crescent Observation International. The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has advised its followers to celebrate the beginning of the month of Ramadan and the Eid holidays with their local masajid, communities and Islamic centers.
Interestingly, Turkey also follows the Hijra calendar based on astronomical calculations. “The Islamic Calendar of Turkey” website carries the Hijra calendar used by Turkey and Turkish communities in Central Asia. The website shows a 24-year calendar from 1999 AD (1420 AH) to 2022 AD (1444 AH). According to this calendar the Eid al-Adha was on Tuesday, August 21, 2018.
The Turkish calendar particularly lists the Gregorian calendar dates of the principal Islamic days of observance: New Hijra Year, the Day of Ashura, the Prophet’s Birthday, the beginning and the end of the month of Ramadan and the date of the Eid Al-Adha which is called in Turkish Kurban Bayramı.
In May 2016, Turkey hosted an International Hijra Calendar Union Congress which produced a unified Hijra calendar to be presented to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for implementation among the OIC member countries. The two-day congress was attended by representatives from around 50 countries including Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt and the U.S.
However, no headway has been reported in the implementation of this unified Hijra calendar by the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
During the International Hijra Congress in Istanbul, President Mehmet Görmez of the Religious Affairs Authority of Turkey, told the Turkish daily Sabah that there has been a misconception or disregard for scientific facts in the Islamic world.
“In this day and age, when people can travel to the moon and observe the movements of sun and moon second by second, in this age of major scientific developments, it was wrong to disregard these developments and insist on observing the new moon with the naked eye by climbing up mountains. God and the Prophet tell us to acquire knowledge and use it.”
Görmez said that although the problem was not solved in its entirety at the moment, the agreement was at least a first step and as the Religious Affairs Authority, they were pleased to see scholars from around the world agree with them on “a right decision” for calendar unity.
Tellingly, in 1997, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation passed a resolution on a unified Hijra calendar for the beginning of the lunar month and the unification of Islamic holidays. However, no Islamic country dared to ignore the tradition of announcing the beginning of the Islamic months through moon sighting committees. Even Saudi Arabia, which relies on astronomical calculations for its official lunar calendar, relies on the decision of moon sighting committee for religious events.
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