Khan Baba
10-25-2006, 07:10 AM
Eid — a three-way split(Dawn- 25/10/06)
ADHOCISM has been our national trait and it can often lead to confusing situations of the kind we are witnessing this Eid. The festival is being celebrated on three different days by people in various regions of the country. Instead of uniting the nation, Eid this year has divided it because of our holding fast to the orthodox method of moon-sighting. The lunar month is to begin only after the heralding new moon has been sighted with naked eyes. To give the process some credibility, the government sets up Ruet-i-Hilal committees that go through the exercise of ‘sighting’, collecting information, etc, before making a formal announcement. This, however, does not always reflect a national consensus and this year too the Peshawar committee declared Eid to be on Monday while the rest of the country celebrates it today, with some areas opting for Tuesday.
Do we have to live through this confusion and uncertainty every year? On Sunday the dilemma was plain. The Met Office issued a press release suggesting that astronomical calculations indicated that the new moon would be visible on Monday in the coastal areas for a short spell. But cloudy weather affected visibility and the Ruet’s chairman declared Wednesday to be Eid day. Such are the uncertainties of the lunar calendar. But it is difficult to understand why science cannot be combined with religion. When there are astronomical methods to calculate the appearance of the new moon — this can be done for years in advance with absolute accuracy — why can’t we use them for determining the start of every lunar month and avoid the confusion and split verdict that often grips the nation, especially in the case of Ramazan and Eidul Fitr?
ADHOCISM has been our national trait and it can often lead to confusing situations of the kind we are witnessing this Eid. The festival is being celebrated on three different days by people in various regions of the country. Instead of uniting the nation, Eid this year has divided it because of our holding fast to the orthodox method of moon-sighting. The lunar month is to begin only after the heralding new moon has been sighted with naked eyes. To give the process some credibility, the government sets up Ruet-i-Hilal committees that go through the exercise of ‘sighting’, collecting information, etc, before making a formal announcement. This, however, does not always reflect a national consensus and this year too the Peshawar committee declared Eid to be on Monday while the rest of the country celebrates it today, with some areas opting for Tuesday.
Do we have to live through this confusion and uncertainty every year? On Sunday the dilemma was plain. The Met Office issued a press release suggesting that astronomical calculations indicated that the new moon would be visible on Monday in the coastal areas for a short spell. But cloudy weather affected visibility and the Ruet’s chairman declared Wednesday to be Eid day. Such are the uncertainties of the lunar calendar. But it is difficult to understand why science cannot be combined with religion. When there are astronomical methods to calculate the appearance of the new moon — this can be done for years in advance with absolute accuracy — why can’t we use them for determining the start of every lunar month and avoid the confusion and split verdict that often grips the nation, especially in the case of Ramazan and Eidul Fitr?