Eid — a three-way split

[Khan Baba]

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?

[MandoKhail]

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?

This is a very sad situation,in pashtoonkhwa moon was seen no one consider it as a evidence to declare eid on monday,in result eid was celebrated in whole north pashtoonkhwa and in middle pashtoonkhwa...on monday moon was seen in DIK and chaman,qila e abdulah,zhob,loralai,again pakistan govt did not accept it as evidence and in result ppl of those areas celebrated eid on tuesday,rest of pakistan was lucky at last eid was announced,if it was all cloudy for a week then what would have happend? what a stupidity we have seen.

[Khan Baba]

True, it was only because of that Mufti Sahab, who never accepts Pukhtun as a witness.
I think there is no need of any RHC, we need to observe all Islamic festivals either with Saudia Arabia or through scientific means.

[lyla23]

Da Mufti kho dai ajiz daasay daasay ko, Khan baba, che os mai dair shauk dai, che yaw zal ae ogoarama...
Dair zrha ma khafa kawa, maa darla oway, kana, che NJ kai 3 akhtaroona shaway dee.

[Khan Baba]

Mufti is a man with long beard, I know I dont like beard chaps, so nothing attractive for you,
Zra na khafa kawoma, toal de wrok shee, nor ghamoona lag dee sa, kho dey munafiqaano ta me dera ghussa kegi, za hum laka sta der ghussanaak yam, gwaray khyal kawa.