New Moon Sighting Again
The Light (UK), February 2007 Issue (pp. 1–2)
True to previous form, there was again muddle and confusion in the fixing of the date of the new moon for the month of the hajj [pilgrimage] and Eid-ul-Adha in December last [2006]. The U.K. Jamaat had, more than two years ago, set the date of this Eid-ul-Adha as 31st December 2006 on the basis of the new moon evening being 21st December, and hence the 1st of the month being 22nd December.
The website www.moonsighting.com, a reliable Muslim astronomical resource of moon sighting times, announced before the start of that Islamic month that:
“The Astronomical New Moon is on Wednesday December 20, 2006 at 14:00 Universal Time. This crescent moon is impossible to be seen in all the continents on Wednesday, December 20.” (see: moonsighting.com/1427zhj.html)
When the time came to look for the crescent, the same website as usual published (on the above webpage) reports from around the world by various observers. One such report was headed:
“Dr. Salman Zafar Shaikh (of New Jersey, USA) reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: About Official Saudi Report”
This report was as follows:
“I am currently in Riyadh. Yesterday — Wednesday, Dec 20 evening I went with the official Riyadh Moon sighting committee. Of course, there was no chance of Hilal anywhere here and the 6 Official Hilal sighting committees of Saudi Arabia (near Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Tabuk and Asir), each of which includes an Islamic Scholar, an Astronomer, a City council representative and volunteers) all reported negative sighting, as expected. Even the Moonset was before Sunset in Saudi and that is why even the Ummul Qura Calendar also put DhulHijja start for Friday, Dec. 22 and Eid ul Adha for Dec. 31, 2006.
“But unfortunately, as is often the case, Saudi Justice Dept. has announced start of Dhul-Hijja incorrectly for Thursday, Dec 21; Hajj on Dec 29, and Eid-al-Adha on Dec 30. Also, I met the Br. Hamza Al-Muzani (Saudi writer) who had written in Saudi ‘Al-Watan’ Newspaper of Thursday, 10 DhulHijja 1425 AH in the article Testimonies of the Impossible that last year Eid ul Adha witnesses were found to be over 80 years old. … Also, this year the false start of Ramadan and Eidul Fitr was due to the well known early witness: AlKhudayri from Huta Sudayr, Saudi Arabia! He is also one of the claimants this time for DhulHijja start.”
It seems a farce in the first place that a committee of such experts should go to find the crescent on an evening when, as stated in this report,
“there was no chance of Hilal anywhere here”!
Yet even when the lack of appearance of the moon was confirmed by these distinguished officials, the ironically named Saudi “Justice” Department announced false evidence that the crescent had been sighted.
After the Saudi announcement was made, and followed by some in the U.K., we were again asked by well-meaning friends why we were holding Eid on 31st December, and not 30th. The above report is clear evidence of false declarations on numerous occasions issued from that country of the start of the lunar month. How is it, then, that people persist in questioning us on every occasion why we are not holding Eid on the Saudi announced date?
This reminds us of two episodes, one true and the other a well-known story. The true one is that some decades ago when the leader of a Muslim sect repeatedly committed moral indiscretions and this was pointed out to his followers, some of them replied: Even if we see our leader committing sin with our own eyes, we will say that our eyes are wrong. The other is the well-know fictional story of the naked emperor. He was wearing nothing, but all his subjects looking on at him were absolutely convinced that he was dressed in finery, just because he had told them so, even though they could see that he had no clothes on. Unfortunately, it seems to be human nature that people are inclined to accept as true whatever the powerful and mighty say, no matter how much evidence may be presented against it.