Ramadan Moon
By Col. Riaz Jafri
(Retd)
Westridge, Rawalpindi
According to the scientific
astronomical evidence the first day of next Ramadan
will fall on Thursday, 13 September 2007. At that
time of the year the moon will be in the southern
hemisphere, as such on the evening of Wednesday
12th September 2007 it will be seen mostly in
southern areas of the world like Mauritius, Mozambique,
South Africa, Senegal, Cape Verde, Ascension Island
and South American countries. So will it be in
Indonesia, Malaysia and Maldives Islands. However,
the people in the northern areas of the world
like Central Asia and Europe (including northern
parts of Pakistan) will have to rely once again
on sightings obtained from the southern areas
of the world, it could create the usual confusion
of the moon being sighted or not sighted on the
evening of Wednesday the 12th September 2007 in
these regions.
However, if somehow, in this space age of inter-planetary
exploration and most precise knowledge of the
movements of the stars and planets computed by
super computers, we could find ourselves for a
while out of the hold of the Muftis and Ruet e
Hilal committees and instead relied upon the Internet
websites like www.moonsighting.com and www.icoproject.org,
we could see for ourselves the very precise moments
of the moon appearing and setting on the horizons
of our respective local areas.
I would, therefore, very strongly urge the government
to announce the Ruet in accordance with the scientific
evidence available on the websites designed for
the sighting of the moon/lunar calendars. And
if it doesn’t have the courage to do away
with the Ruet e Hilal Committees then at least
include a computer-literate member equipped with
a laptop and Internet connection to advise the
Muftis of the actual realities.
Needless to say, that announcing Ruet by such
faultless means will go a long way in unifying
the nation.
